Institute 13
by Kazemaru-kun
Summary: Welcome to Institute 13, the prestigious all boys private schoolWait! All boys? For twins Sora and Roxas Strife that just won't do. Good thing Destiny High public school is only a fence away. [SoraxKairi and RoxasxNamine]
1. Prologue

Wait, before you start reading I want you to know that this is only the prologue. Now be warned that this an extremely long one. The good stuff starts in chapter two when the main characters are fifteen years old.

Disclaimer: I own a copy of both KH and KH2 for PS2, but do I actually own it? Let me put it this way, there are reasons why phrases like "When hell freezes over," were created.

-/-

Seven-year-old Sora Strife checked the contents of his backpack, secured his bag to his back, strengthened his resolve, and walked up to his neighbor's house. Standing up on his tiptoes, as he was very small for being seven years old, he rang the doorbell. Barely seconds later the door opened and Sora smiled up at the woman who greeted him. "G' morning, Mrs. Kisaragi, is Yuffie home?"

"One moment." Mrs. Kisaragi disappeared into the house, calling her daughter's name. Sora found a few interesting clouds to stare at while he waited.

"Gainsborough." The brunette jerked his head back around and up to stare at the thirteen year old Asian girl smirking down at him. Sora frowned.

"Why do you call me that? My last name's Strife."

"You were a Gainsborough when your mother brought you and your brother home from the hospital and you're a Gainsborough now." Yuffie said, poking his forehead. Sora didn't have the faintest clue as to what she was talking about. He'd seen both his and his brother's birth certificates and the last name's on both of them was Strife. The only Gainsborough around was his mother. "So what's up? Your Mom needs me to baby-sit again?"

"Nu-uh. I need a favor." Sora became a little nervous and began fidgeting with his backpack straps.

"Well?"

"I found my Dad."

-/-

"Sora let's think about this logically." Yuffie tried to reason with the little brunette as he pulled her along through the market. "Even if the man you saw yesterday was your father, what are the odds that you'll see him again today?" Sora halted in his steps and pointed to a street corner. Standing at the corner, leaning on a lamp post was the ugliest man Yuffie had ever laid her eyes on. He had greasy, curly black hair and a thick tangled beard. He smelled like a giant cigar and looked like he had fished his clothes out of a trash bin. His face was permanently etched into a frown except when women, who were all incredibly out of his league, would pass by and then he'd smile a tobacco stained snaggled-tooth grin that wasn't much of an improvement over his frown. Yuffie prayed that he wasn't the man they were looking for.

"Excuse me, Mister." Sora slipped out of the teen's hold before she could stop him and walked up to the ugly man. The man scowled and spat a tobacco filled loogie at the boy's feet.

"Beat it kid." Ignoring the man's rudeness, he stepped over the spit and pulled a crinkled photo out of his pocket.

"You shined this man's shoes yesterday. Do you know who he is or where I can find him?" The man stared at the picture while chewing thoughtfully on his tobacco.

"If I tell you something will you get lost?" Sora nodded eagerly and the man turned his face away to spit again. "Anyone in Radiant Garden can tell you where you can find that guy and who he is."

"Thank you." The man grunted and shooed the boy away. "Let's go, Yuffie!" Sora ran back, catching the teen by her wrist and dragging her off. "We need a taxi!"

It took a few tries to attract a taxi driver willing to take two children seriously about needing a ride, but eventually they hooked one.

"Where to kid?" The cabby asked in a gruff voice while scratching the stubble on his chin.

"Radiant Garden." Yuffie gapped and the cabby stared at Sora as if he were crazy.

"Kid, do you know how much munny a cab ride to Radiant Garden would cost?"

"No," Sora yanked his backpack forward and rummaged through it, "but I have this." He pulled a piggy bank from his pack and handed it to the driver. The cabby shook the bank a few times, estimated that it contained twenty munny at most, and frowned. "I've been saving that since I was five, is it enough?" It was no where near enough.

"Where to in Radiant Garden?" Sora handed the man his crinkled picture.

"I have to find this man and the guy who shined his shoes said that anyone in Radiant Garden would know him."

"Anyone is right." The cabby thought while scrutinizing the photo. Anyone who lived in Radiant Garden and didn't know this man would have to have been living under a rock for the past six years. Why would this boy want to find the man who was not only one of the three richest people around, but also the man who inherited the corporation that put Radiant Garden on the map? "Why are you looking for this man?"

Sora rubbed the back of his head and dragged his foot across the ground before looking straight into the cabby's face and saying, "I want to know if he's really my father."

-/-

"Here you go kids." The cabby pulled his blue and white taxi right up to the revolving doors of a tall gray skyscraper. Sora gasped in surprise at the sheer height of the building and craned his neck back to see the top. Yuffie uttered a soft, "Woah!" as she climbed out of the cab. The seven year old scrambled out after her and turned to the cabby. "This is his company, well it's one of them, but odds are pretty good he's at the very top. I can't help you get up there, but don't let those busybody secretaries intimidate you. You have something important to find out and you can't leave without answers." Sora gave a little bow, thanking the cabby for his services and advice and then ran to the revolving doors.

"Why do you care so much?" Yuffie asked, arching a curious brow at the driver. "Why did you bring us here for free?"

"I knew the woman in the picture." His fingers went back to scratching at his chin. "Chances are pretty good that little squirt is his kid."

"You know his mother!"

"Same high school, different graduating class, but I knew Gainsborough. She was a sweet girl. Wanted to be a doctor and own a clinic if I remember correctly." He started his engine. "And the ride wasn't for free. I took five munny."

"His name is Sora Strife and he has a twin named Roxas." She didn't know what possessed her to tell this man that.

"Well then chances are pretty damn good, indeed."

-/-

"All settled accordingly?" Ansem Wise asked, carefully reading the documents on his desk. The man sitting before him tugged at the blue tie of his gray suit and nodded an affirmative.

"Once you sign here the divorce will be final. Legally you'll be a free man."

"And the agreements?"

"Yes. Your ex-wife, I should say, has settled for the penthouse in exchange for any type of custody over your sons."

"And the boy?"

"Court has granted you full custody over him as well as the restraining order on your ex-wife."

"Very well." Ansem gave the contracts his official John Hancock and passed them to his lawyer. "What is the boy's name?"

"Riku Yasutora."

-/-

Riku had never been to a mansion before in his entire life. He did not know how much the plush white carpet cost or how priceless the artwork displayed throughout the halls was. He did not know that the twinkling chandeliers above him alone could feed a family of four for months. All Riku knew was that he was very far from home and very afraid.

When he was at home all he could think about was how much he hated living with Aunty Maleficent and how badly he wanted to leave. He'd run away on several occasions, but never made it farther than a block before racing back. Aunty Maleficent was really too old to be Riku's real aunt and he was smart enough to know that the decrepit woman had no relation to him other than being charged as his caretaker. She had been cruel and strict and Riku had lost count of the number of times she had gotten upset with him for some reason or another and struck him with the metal handle of her cane, but she was all he had.

There were some times that he liked living with Aunty Maleficent. One day in particular she drove him to a toy store and told him to pick out something he liked. Riku had cautiously picked out of the cheapest toy he could find afraid that he would be yelled at or hit if he'd grabbed something expensive. Aunty Maleficent had sneered at the toy in his hands, told him to put it back, and then steered him towards the aisle with the more expensive toys. He finally chose a black stuffed mouse that said, "I love you!" when it was hugged. The old woman had glanced hatefully at the toy as if it were an admirer that had given her an unwanted love confession, but she bought the mouse for him anyway.

On the ride home Aunty Maleficent slapped him hard across the face. While he nursed his split lip and stinging cheek she screamed at him. If she were ever feeling generous again he was to not waste her time picking out cheap crap that would break after a few days. Riku remained silent and hugged his mouse. That quickly reminded him of why he hated living with her.

His only reprieve from Aunty Maleficent was when his mother would visit which was always fleeting. Every few weeks she would arrive on the doorstep with a check for his cruel caretaker and a hug and kiss for him. Then she would bundle him up in her car and just take him to the beach, to the park, to the zoo, to anywhere that wasn't home with Aunty Maleficent. At the end of the day though she was driving him back and he was begging her to take him with her, or to let him live with his father. She'd smile at him and give him some reason he could never understand about why he could not stay with her, but she'd never mention his father. All Riku knew about the man was that he had inherited his green eyes from him and that he was a man his mother was never supposed to be with.

Now, however, eight year old Riku Yasutora had neither his mother nor Aunty Maleficent. All he had were two little suitcases of clothes, his stuffed mouse, and the only gift his mother had given him. The gift was a tiny, black baby mouse, named Mickey, in a plastic purple cage and a small paper bag of pellets.

"I love you!" Riku squeezed his mouse. As kind as his mother had been she had never told him those words and Aunty Maleficent would have probably self-imploded if the word "love" ever graced her lips. "I love you!" Even so, he wished one of them was here.

-/-

Namine pressed her face and palms against the cold, foggy surface of the car window, peering out at the houses that flew by. This was where she was going to live now.

"Aren't you excited?" Namine peeled her face off the window and glanced at the nun sitting next to her. "I never know if I'm more happy or upset whenever one of you gets adopted." The sister pulled a hanky out and dabbed at her eyes. "You'll love the Turners and I'm sure you'll get along well with your new brothers and sister."

"They have more kids?" Namine hoped this wouldn't be like a foster home. She didn't want to be sent back to the church/orphanage.

"None of their own, but they adopted a girl your age five years ago and two boys three years ago." What Namine didn't know and what the good sister didn't plan to tell her was that the Turners had tried for several years to have a child of their own, but ultimately decided on adoption after Elizabeth nearly died from a miscarriage. Will was an orphan after all, it had made perfect sense. "Now before you meet your new family I want to give you something." The nun pulled a gift wrapped rectangular box out from under her car seat and placed it into the girl's hands. "It's just a small gift from me, the other sisters, and the children." Namine found it hard to believe that the other orphans had contributed any thing to the present besides signing their names on the large Hallmark card attached to the box, but it was the thought that counted right?

"Thank you, Sister Flora." The little blond made short work of the wrapping paper and opened the box just as swiftly. "Sis-Sister Flora!" She threw her arms around the nun's waist as tears welled up in her eyes.

The gift was nothing spectacular and Namine hadn't expected it to be. After all Sister Flora worked at an orphanage run by a church. The nun wasn't exactly loaded. It was only a box full of sketch pads, color pencils, watercolors, crayons, markers, and an inexpensive painting kit, but it still meant the world to Namine.

"Now, now." Sister Flora gently pushed the ten year old back and wiped her face with her hanky. "We can't have you meeting your new parents looking a mess. They'll think you hate them." The nun had no sooner finished cleaning the young girl's face off before the car lurched to a stop. "Look's like we're here. Come along, dear." Sister Flora opened her car door and spent a moment stretching her tired, cramped muscles before grabbing Namine's single suitcase and the girl's hand and walking her to the door.

_My new house._ It was, for lack of a more descriptive adjective, modest. The house had two floors, a separate building that sat slightly off to the side and behind it and bellowed black smoke, and a large opened garage that stood on the opposite side of the house and held a truck, a mini-van, and a boat inside. Sister Flora rang the doorbell.

"I got it!" The nun and girl heard someone scream from inside the house.

"Tidus, get away from that door!" There was a loud crashing noise and then another scream.

"Mama! Hayner's picking on me again!" Another loud crash. "Mama!"

"She's in the backyard. She can't hear you and you're not answering that door!" The mentioned door slowly opened and Namine shuffled behind Sister Flora.

"Hi!" Someone chirped cheerfully. "You're the nun from yesterday, right?" That didn't sound like the two fighting inside. "Daddy's working right now, but Mama-" The talking suddenly stopped and Namine peeked out from behind Sister Flora curiously. A little girl with short auburn hair stood in the doorway tilting her head and starting back at the blue eyes identical to her own. "Are you my new sister?" The girl asked hesitantly. Sister Flora pushed Namine forward and she nodded shyly. "She's here!" The little girl's face visibly lit up and she turned to the two boys still wrestling on the floor. "Tidus! Hayner! Go get, Mama, she's here!" The smaller boy wiggled out of the headlock his brother had him in and ran off. The older boy followed soon after. "I'm Kairi." Before she could register what was happening Namine found herself enveloped in a fierce hug. "What's your name?" The girl's happiness was infectious as soon both the nun and her former charge were smiling with her.

"My name is Namine." _My new sister. _Although the hug had been highly unexpected she returned it with just as much fervor. _My family._

-/-

"Come back here, you little brats!"

_How do I get myself into these messes? _Yuffie wondered as she clung to the mail cart she and Sora was speeding down the hallway on. The boy across from her snickered evilly before knocking over a trash bin. Yuffie looked back in time to see one of the guards chasing them trip over it. _Oh yeah, I hang out with this kid. _He could be such an angel when he wanted to be that it always was a surprise to see him turn into a little hell child.

"Hard left!" Sora yelled.

"Right!" Yuffie called back.

"No, left!" Sora threw his weight out as the teenager pushed hers in.

"I know that, idiot! I meant right, left not right, right!" The mail cart titled and flew around the corner on two wheels.

"You're not allowed on this floor!" A rubber band shot into the guard's opened mouth.

"Shove it!" Yuffie continued firing rubber bands and throwing anything from staplers to packages at their pursuers. "Hold that elevator!" The poor woman who had stepped out of the elevator had just enough time to dive out of the way. The mail cart slammed into the moving box, knocking both children senseless for a few seconds, and the door slid closed. "Which floor would he be on?" Yuffie trailed her fingers up and across the elevator buttons.

"The top?" Sora replied.

"The numbers stop at twelve, but I know there are more floors than that." They studied the buttons for a moment then she turned to him grinning. "Executive?"

"Executive."

The elevator doors on the executive floor dinged softly and slid opened. A spiky, brown haired head poked out and then the rest of the body followed. "Coast's clear." Sora said barely above a whisper while looking around. Except for a single secretary holding a cell phone to her ear with her shoulder and typing on a computer at her desk the floor was completely barren. Yuffie nudged his shoulder and pointed at the door behind the secretary. Sora nodded and began to slowly creep around the secretary's desk.

"If you do not have an appointment to see Mr. Strife, you need to leave." Sora broke out into a run. "Hey!" The secretary jumped up to get him and Yuffie seized the presented opportunity. She ran out of the elevator, rolled over the desk, and plopped neatly onto the vacated chair.

"Hey, does this thing have video games?" The secretary stopped chasing Sora around the room and looked back at her desk. Yuffie grinned viciously, cracked her knuckles, and pounded away on the keyboard. "Oooh, delete important files! This is a fun game!" She could see the blood drain from the woman's face and then rise back just as quickly in anger. "Hey, lady, what would happen if I pulled the plug out?" She mouthed the word, "Go!" to Sora before reaching down and yanking the power cord from its outlet. Yuffie had never seen a middle age woman move so fast so it was a very fortunate thing she was faster. _Sora better hurry up. I can't run from this old woman forever!_

-/-

"You look so much like your mother." Riku jerked in his seat and stared up at the blond man standing in front of him. "Ansem Wise." He stuck out his hand for Riku to shake, but it was ignored in favor of staring.

_Those eyes. Who has yellow eyes like that? _

"You're name is Riku, correct?" Riku swallowed, gathered his courage, and glared into the man's creepy yellow eyes.

"Where's my, Mum?" Ansem smiled and turned away.

"Probably throwing a wild, orgy in her new penthouse," he turned back and knelt in front of Riku, smiling again when the boy squirmed and scooted away. "However as far as you are concerned if she cares about you at all you will never see her again."

"I want my Mum." Who was this man to tell him he would never see his mother again?

"I want my Mum." Someone mocked off to the side.

"Xehanort." Riku looked towards the teasing voice and saw two young, silver haired boys. They both had those creepy yellow eyes, but the one apparently called Xehanort was taller and had longer hair. "Boys I want you to meet Riku, your little half-brother." Ansem placed his hand on Riku's head. "These are your older brothers, Xehanort and Xemnas."

-/-

Kairi hadn't let go of her hand since she had dragged her upstairs, but Namine found that she didn't mind. She had only caught the barest glimpse of Elizabeth before being whisked away, but she didn't mind that either. Sister Flora could talk to her new mother. Namine wasn't ready. "Okay this is our room." Half of the room looked like a rainbow had exploded on it. A colorful array of posters, stickers, awards, and stuffed animals covered that half. The other side of the room was bare except for the four poster bed and the caramel colored Teddy Bear sitting on top of it. She was able to read the words, "With Love from Uncle Jack," on the tag around the bear's neck before Kairi whisked her away again. "When you really move in we'll decorate your side of the room." Kairi continued the tour showing Namine the basics. Such as the bathroom, hallway closets, their parents' room, and-"This is Hayner's and Tidus's room." Kairi knocked once and then opened the door. Her brothers' room was everything Namine thought it would be. A hurricane would have made a lesser mess and in the middle of it all was a skinny little boy with shoulder length blond hair. His eyes were glued to a television screen and his fingers were frantically punching the buttons of a game controller. "Tidus, where's Hayner?"

"Eh." Answered Tidus.

"Well would you at least say hello to Namine? She's your new big sister."

"Eh." Went Tidus. Kairi picked a random object up off the filth covered floor and pitched it at her brother. It smacked him right in the center of his head. "Eh." Said Tidus.

"What's wrong with him?" Namine asked while watching Kairi continued to pitch things at his head. Everything thrown hit its target, but Tidus never did more than mutter an, "Eh," in response.

"That video game. He'll be back to his regular chatterbox self after he's finished playing it." Kairi gave up, because it was impossible to run out of things to throw, and pulled Namine along the next room. "This is Uncle Jack's room. I don't think he's actually Daddy's brother, but we still call him uncle." Kairi knocked on this door as well, but no one answered. "Guess he's out on the Black Pearl."

"That boat? I saw it in the garage."

"Right you are. You don't get seasick do you?" Namine shrieked and fell over on Kairi. "Did you like the bear?"

"Uncle Jack!" He was a tall man with a braided mess of brown hair (even his beard was braided) and coffee colored eyes. His teeth were perhaps a dentist's worst nightmare, but they seemed to fit him.

"Shhh!" Jack looked around and then leaned down to whisper, "Where's Will and Elizabeth?"

"Mom's talking with the nun downstairs and Daddy's-Uncle Jack! You're sneaking in more-" Jack clapped a hand over Kairi's mouth.

"Shhh! You know how your mother is about me and alcohol. She'll pour it all down the drain before I can enjoy a single bottle. Here's five munny each if you don't tell your Mom or Dad or those big mouthed brothers of yours what dear ole' Uncle Jack has." Namine stared at the munny in her hand and then to the brunette slipping into his room to apparently take part of his secret stash.

_He actually bribed us. What a strange family._ And they were hers now.

-/-

For one brief minute Sora thought that he'd stepped into another barren floor. The room was vast and empty and most of the walls were actually large windows. A few black sculptures, none of which were very interesting, stood off to the sides and in the center of the room were a circular desk with a computer sitting on top of it and two chairs in front of it.

For one brief minute Sora really thought no one was in the office. Then he heard the unmistakable clicking noise of keys being rapidly pressed.

_This is the moment you've been waiting for. Don't screw it up._ Sora walked forward and climbed into one of the chairs. The clicking stopped.

"You shouldn't be here." Sora gulped down the frightened squeak that nearly escaped him. There was nothing harsh or angry about the voice coming from behind the computer, but it was cold. It wasn't loud. He hadn't yelled, but it still rang in his ears.

"I think… you know this woman." Sora put his wrinkled picture on the desk and pushed it towards the man. A hand shot out and drew it behind the computer. Then Sora heard whispered so quietly he had to strain his ears-

"Aerith." Though he hadn't wanted to and tried hard not to tears sprang from his eyes. The man pushed his chair back and Sora was finally able to see his face. His head was adorned with spiky blond hair and the shades of blue in his eyes were exactly like Sora's. He was much older than the man in the photo, but he was positive it was the same guy.

"My name is Sora Strife. That woman in the picture is Aerith Gainsborough. She's-she's my mother and you… You're my father."

-/-

"Give me that rat!" Riku tightened his hold on his stuffed mouse and sped up his pace.

"No! You're not getting him!" His new nanny wasn't much different from Aunty Maleficent except Ms. Ursula was significantly overweight and much easier to dodge. Ms. Ursula was intent on taking everything Riku owned and washing it or burning it. For his stuffed mouse, which had weathered many years with him (and it showed), it was the later rather than the former. Needless to say he wasn't going to let that happen.

"That dirty, disgusting thing does not belong in this mansion!"

"I don't care if he's old and dirty and missing an eye. He's mine!" Riku shot down the left hallway and began twisting doorknobs. "Yes!" One of the doorknobs turned fully and he quickly disappeared into the room. He locked himself in and then leaned back with a relieved sigh.

"Why are you in my room?" Riku yelped. His older brother, Xemnas, sat on the other side of the room. He was reclining in a chair with a large book in his hand.

"I-I didn't know-"

"I don't like repeating myself." Xemnas put his book down as he stood up and walked towards Riku. The silver haired boy cringed away. "Why are you in my room?" Riku huddled back into a corner and hugged his mouse.

"I love you!" The mouse wasn't so much a toy as it was a comfort device. When ever he felt bad, scared, or Aunty Maleficent made him bleed he would hug his mouse and the pain would go away.

"I see. Ursula went on another filth brigade." Xemnas said narrowing his eyes at the dirty mouse. He reached forward and slightly over the little boy to unlock his door. Riku whimpered. Xemnas drew his hand back and looked down. The eight year old was still huddled in the corner, curled into a tight ball and trembling. Xemnas eyes narrowed again, this time into a suspicious glare, as he bent down, grabbed the bottom of Riku's pajama top, and jerked it up. "Who hurt you?" The trembling and fear of being touched was Xemnas's first clue and now looking at the purplish-blue bruises and red welts that littered his little brother's chest and back he was positive that Riku was a victim of child abuse. "Who hurt you? I'm not asking a third time."

"Aunty Maleficent."

-/-

_I'm… a father? _Had it been any other person claiming to be his son Cloud Strife would have simply called security and had them removed from his office, but this was different. There was a very real possibility that this little boy crying in the chair before him was his son. "How old are you?"

"Seven." Cloud hadn't seen Aerith in eight years.

"You're mother, is she really Aerith Gainsborough?" Sora nodded. "Damn." He and Aerith had dated all through their high school years, but they had only slept together once. The night before he left to study abroad at Disney Castle. It had been sort of a farewell, but if he had gotten her pregnant that was the only time it could have happened.

_Why didn't she try to contact me? I would have come back. I would have-Wait! Get a hold of yourself Strife! You aren't even positive that this kid is telling the truth. _"Sora," Cloud rose from his seat, walked around the desk, and grabbed his, apparently, son's hand. "Come with me."

Sora followed Cloud out the office and passed a sulking Yuffie. The teenager was sitting on a couch picking lent off her clothes while the secretary, to absorbed in her work of recovering deleted files to notice her boss leaving, pounded away on her computer.

"Come on, Yuffie!" Cloud paid no mind to the girl after she fell in step besides him. He knew she could not be his as well.

-/-

Riku stole quick, little glances at Xemnas while cramming Double Stuf Oreos in his mouth. _Aunty Maleficent never let me have stuff like this! _He had never tasted something so delicious. On his twelfth glance at his brother Xemnas looked up from the letter he was writing and glared.

"Drink your milk before it gets cold." Riku grabbed the large glass of warm milk and downed half of it. He placed the glass back down and raised his arm to wipe off the milk mustache was sure he had. Xemnas stopped him by thrusting a napkin at his face. "You're old enough to feed yourself without making a mess. Don't wipe your face with your sleeve."

"Sorry." Riku mumbled, taking the napkin and cleaning his face off.

"Whatever." Xemnas finished his letter and enclosed it in an envelope addressed to his father. "Sally," he turned to the housekeeper who was silently washing dishes, "I need a first aid kit."

"Oh, I'll get one at once, Master Xemnas." After she left to fetch the first aid kit the silver haired teen stripped his brother of his top to examine the bruises more closely.

"She was very careful to not hit you anywhere that couldn't be covered by a shirt." Xemnas gently prodded one of the darker blemishes and Riku flinched away from his touch. "You'd better finish eating before Sally gets back." Riku looked at the lone Oreo sitting on his plate and broke it in half. He popped one piece into his mouth and held the other out to Xemnas. His brother sighed tiredly, as if the offering were a bother, but ate the cookie half none the less.

-/-

"Hey that's the Black Pearl!" Tidus said, laying down beside Namine on his stomach. "So cool. Do you have anymore?" He asked while pointing to the sketchbook. She nodded and pushed the sketchbook towards him. "Man, you draw good." Tidus flipped through pages and commented on every sketch.

"Shouldn't you two be in bed?" Tidus and Namine whipped their heads around to stare at Jack. He gave them a smile filled with crooked teeth and said, "I believe your bedtime was over two hours ago, Tidus."

"Uncle Jack, you got to see this," Tidus flipped back to the earliest work and showed it to his uncle. "Look it's the Black Pearl. Namine drew it." Jack took the sketch pad out of his hands and swatted Tidus lightly on the bottom with it.

"Off to bed with you."

"Alright, alright." He stood up and ran off to his room. "Night!" Namine got up as well and began heading back to her room.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Jack asked, starring intently at the drawing of the Black Pearl. "I bet you'd make an excellent navigator. You have a very fine eye for details and good memory too."

"Um… thank you. I-"

"There you are." Namine jumped, startled and looked up to see William Turner standing over her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Sir, I'm sorry. I know I should be in bed and-"

"Shhh." Will interrupted for the second time, placing a finger to her lips. "On a school night I expect you to be in bed at this time and to stay there. Tonight, however, I think the best thing to do is to just get you back into bed." Will picked Namine up and her arms immediately went around his neck.

"One minute, Will." Jack bended down slightly to look Namine in the eye. "What say you, tomorrow I teach you how to read and draw maps?" He straightened to his full height and said to Will, "The girl's got the makings of a cartographer."

"Have you been drinking?" Jack left a dust cloud in his wake. "Works every time." Will said while carrying Namine to her room.

After tucking her in her crossed to the other side of the room to pull the blankets more securely around his other daughter. He was back by the little blond's side in seconds. "Goodnight, Namine." Will kissed her forehead and she turned red and yanked her blanket over her face.

"Goodnight… Daddy."

-/-

_I can't believe it. _Despite what he could and could not believe the papers in his hand did not lie and nether did blood. _I'm a father!_ Cloud thought with a little more certainty as he watched Sora stand on his tiptoes and press the doorbell.

"This is going to turn into one of those sappy private family moments you only see on soap operas, so I think I'll just head home." Yuffie said as she walked off.

"See you tomorrow, okay?" Sora asked.

"Oh, uh…" She rubbed the back of her neck, looking a little unsure. "Yeah sure, hopefully."

_What's with her? _Sora wondered once Yuffie had disappeared into her house. _And why won't Roxas answer? I know he's home! _"Roxas!" He yelled pounding on the door. "Open up!"

"I coming! Geez!" Roxas wrenched the door opened. "Who's that guy?" He asked, pointing at the man behind his brother.

Cloud studied the little boy standing in the doorway as he peered at him with two wide blue eyes. His hair was less wild than Sora's and was a dirty blond instead of brown, but besides that slight difference the two boys were identical. They were even wearing the same clothes albeit the clothes were slightly oversized and probably hand-me-downs.

_How many illegitimate children do I have?_ Cloud wondered at the exact same time Sora turned to him smiling a big goofy grin.

"This is my twin brother. You don't need his blood too, right?"

"My blood!" Since when had his younger twin hung out with men who took people's blood?

"Come on, Rox, don't you recognize him?"

Roxas glared up at Cloud daring him to try and take his blood and said, "No. Why should I?" His brother groaned and slapped his palm over his face.

"How could you not? You stare at that picture almost more than I do."

"Shut up! I do not!" Sora ignored the angry flush rising on his brother's cheeks and shoved the wrinkled photo at him.

"Look and tell me you don't recognize him." Roxas's eyes flickered back and forth between the picture and Cloud. His blush receded quickly as did all the blood in his face.

"MOM!" Sora plugged his ears and Cloud winced.

_Damn, this kid's got a mouth on him. He definitely didn't get that from me. _

"Roxas, what's wrong?" It was physically impossible for your heart to leapt in to your throat, but Cloud was sure his heart had found some way to do it. He was also sure that his stomach was doing flip flops.

"Mom, mom!" Roxas was hopping up and down and Sora, for no apparent reason, had joined him while yelling, "Look, look!"

"What are you two yelling about?" His kidneys were doing the tango with his bladder now.

"My God." A young woman garbed in a pink dress and a white apron and holding a spatula appeared behind the two bouncing boys. Cloud did his best fish imitation. To say that she was a single mother of two for the past eight years time had been very good to her. She was taller, but still probably only reached his chin, and her hair was longer yet still that same chocolate brown and pulled back into a braid.

"Mom! Look who it is!" Sora grabbed her arm on the way up and the spatula clattered on the floor on his way down. The woman sent him a slightly scolding look which was pointedly ignored. "I found him! I found him!"

"Sora, what are you-?" Cloud hadn't realized he was holding his breath until she finally glanced up at him and he let out a quiet gasp. Her emerald eyes were just as he remembered them. They were even welling with tears like he remember though these tears were different. Eleven years ago she cried because he was leaving. Today she cried because he'd come back.

"Aerith. You look good."

-/-

At sixteen there were many things Xehanort was too old and too mature to do and walking behind his father with his arms crossed over his chest and his lips stuck out in a pout was one of them. Of course he felt that he had every right to behave the way he was. If your father had dragged you out of your warm comfortable bed to search for your little brat of a half-brother who'd gone missing from his room last night, you'd feel like making ugly faces behind your father's back too.

"Xehanort, fix your face before I give you something to really frown about." His son's pout turned into a scowl.

"This fixed enough for you?" Xehanort muttered to low too be heard as anything more than mumbling. Out loud he said, "Why do I have to help look for the little monster anyway? It's not like he's my responsibility." He wasn't the one running around having unprotected sex and popping out silver haired bastards. That was his mother's job and this was her fault. The divorce, having to live with his father, Riku, everything was her fault.

"Riku's welfare is the responsibility of us all." Ansem said just as they reached the door to Xemnas's room. "Which is why I am enlisting the aid of your brother as well." Without bothering to knock Ansem slowly opened his second youngest son's door but stopped short of actually stepping into the room. Xehanort poked his head in to see what the hold up was.

"What.. the hell..?" It must have been the lack of sleep, Xehanort decided. Lack of sleep was the only explanation for what his eyes were seeing because it certainly couldn't be real. Ansem chuckled quietly and eased the door back closed.

"Well then, I guess we found him." Inside the room laying undisturbed on his king sized bed was Xemnas and next to him sprawled across his stomach in sleep with a stuffed mouse wrapped tightly in his arms was Riku.

"Oh, Master Ansem." Said man arched a curious brow as his house maid ran up to him and handed him a letter.

"Sally..?"

"Master Xemnas requested that I give this to you. I believe it concerns the young master."

-/-

"Budge over Sora. I can't see." Roxas elbowed his brother until he shuffled far enough away for both of them to see through the tiny vent they were using to spy on their parents. They were supposed to be in their room, but only an idiot would miss something so life altering and their mother didn't raise fools. Simultaneously they held a finger to their lips signaling each other to be quiet and prepared to listen. A loud yipping noise behind them nearly gave the brothers a heart attack.

"Goofy!" A black puppy with long floppy ears and white paws sat on his bottom behind them yipping excitedly while wagging his skinny tail. Sora spun around to bundled up the puppy in his arms and covered his brown muzzle. "Shush!"

"Sora!" Roxas whispered, motioning frantically. "Get over here. They're talking!"

-/-

_This is like the first time I asked her out all over again._ Statistically those awkward teen years had nothing on this moment. It did not however make this any less nerve wrecking and Aerith not saying more than a few words to him wasn't helping to calm his nerves any. She'd invited him, showed him to the couch and then sent the boys to their room which Cloud knew they had not gone to because he could see four little blue eyes peeping at them through the vent by the television. Once Aerith had joined him on the couch Cloud turned to her and said, "So.." at the exact time she said, "How did you…"

"They're both mi-ours, aren't they?" Cloud handed her the folder that he'd so far been clutching with a white knuckle grip. "Sora and I were positive matches. Why didn't you tell me?" Aerith hadn't stopped worrying her bottom lip. She probably wouldn't until it bled. "Aerith..?"

"I didn't know." He felt like asking how could she not know, but she saved him the trouble. "I didn't even find out I was pregnant until a month after you left."

"I would have come back." She knew that, didn't she? If he'd known then Cloud would have hopped on the first Gummi Ship back to Traverse Town.

"I know you would have." Aerith said, fiddling with her apron. "I couldn't ask that of you. You had your whole life planned out. Disney Castle, the Olympus Coliseum, Radiant Garden, and then there was that whole mess with your father and half-brother. I was just some girl you dated in high school."

"You know my father never intended to leave the company to Sephy, but what about your plans? Your dreams of being a doctor? Why should you have sacrificed yours for mine? We both made the mistake-"

"Don't say that! Our children aren't mistakes. They're-Why are you smiling?" It was the same lopsided grin that Sora always smiled and though it looked strange on Cloud she now knew where the brunette got it from.

"You said our children." He caught her hand, the one fiddling with her apron. "Aerith, they are ours. We were in this together when they were conceived. We should have been together when they were born and for the past eight years. I don't understand why we couldn't be, but," Cloud slipped off the couch and onto one knee with Aerith's hand still trapped in his own. "I would like to be with you now. You and our sons, if you let me. Aerith will you marry me?"

-/-

"Roxas?" A pair of sleepy blue eyes squinted through the darkness, searching until they found his brother. Sora was standing next to his bed holding Goofy in one hand. His pillow was in his other hand and his blanket was thrown over his shoulder. Without uttering a single word Roxas scooted over and Sora climbed into bed with him.

"Just because they aren't getting married doesn't mean we can't be a family." Sora sniffled and buried his self in the blankets. Goofy rolled over onto his back in between the twins and kick one his back paws while Roxas scratched his stomach. "Dad's going to visit us all the time."

"It won't be the same." Was Sora's muffled reply. "If Mom had just said yes we all would've been Strifes. We would have been a real family. One with a mom, a dad, maybe a baby sister."

"A baby sister? What do we need one of them for? You got a perfectly good older twin brother right here." Roxas sat up, looking a little irritated. His brother let loose a fit of giggles. "What? It's not like Mom needs another kid around. We stress her out enough."

"It's not the same, Rox." He sat up and gave his twin a very unwanted hug as Roxas turned red and shoved him away. "You know our Dad's like super rich. He owns a bunch of skyscraper buildings." He'd started gesturing wildly and Roxas wisely sunk low in the bed less he get hit with one of his brother's flying arms. "Mom would have help taking care of us and our baby sister and since we're kids of a billionaire we wouldn't have to wear hand-me-downs anymore, even though I kind of like them since they're so soft an-mpfh!"

Having effectively shut his brother up by clocking him with his own pillow, Roxas then said, "One: We don't have a baby sister. Two: Our parents aren't married." Sora pulled his pillow off his face and laid back down.

"Thanks a lot, Rox. You're a great brother." He grabbed Goofy and rolled over so his back was facing his brother and the puppy was nuzzled into his chest. Roxas sighed and reached out to ruffle Sora's spiky hair.

"We're still a family. Even if they aren't together."

"It still isn't the same."

-/-

_I must have done something awful in a past life to deserve this._ Xemnas sent a couple of kids who had drifted to close to him an ugly sneer and they quickly drifted away. He had been doing so for the past half hour and fortunately it was still working. "Someone, please, kill me now." Xemnas settled into a comfortable brooding stance against the DDR game. For some reason his father thought it was best that he take Riku out of the house while he discussed the contents of Xemnas's letter with his lawyer. If all went according to plan Maleficent would receive exactly what she deserved.

"Man, what is up with that guy?"

"The one hogging DDR?"

"Yeah, hogging it and not even playing it." Riku, who had been totally absorbed in Rampage Total Destruction, glanced up from the game console and looked towards his brother. "If he doesn't want to be here he should do everyone a favor and leave."

"Hey Xemnas," Riku abandoned his video game and walked up to his brother. "Could you teach me how to play air hockey?" He grabbed Xemnas's hand pulled him towards the other end of the arcade.

-/-

"Namine, hold still." Elizabeth said, struggling to put the finishing touches on her daughter's costume and not stab her with a straight pin at the same time. "You can see how you look when I'm done."

"Will it be as pretty as Kairi's costume?" Elizabeth pulled the last pin out and kissed Namine on the head.

"You're playing the pauper, dear. You don't get to wear the dress like Kairi's until the end of the play."

"Oh." _That's right. Kairi's playing the princess and I'm playing the pauper. What is a pauper anyway?_ Kairi grabbed her sister's hands and yanked her off the stool she was perched on.

"Cheer up, Namine! We're the stars!"

"Hmpf! At least you two are people." Tidus grumbled from the couch. He'd practically been swallowed by his solid gray costume. "I'm a bloody rock." His older brother had laughed at him when he'd found out that he was cast as a rock. His brother had laughed the entire time he was being fitted for his rock costume. Now Tidus was dressed and ready to go the their final rehearsal and Hayner was still laughing. "Shut up, Hayner!"

"You'll be the best rock on stage and watch your language." Elizabeth assured, turning around to gather the girls' second costume just to nearly slam into Jack who stood behind her holding a video camera. "Really, Jack, do you have to film this to?"

"Will said he didn't want to miss anything." Jack put the camcorder down anyway to grab a black water bottle. He twisted the top off and took a long drink.

"What is that?" She wouldn't put it passed Jack to try and sneak an alcoholic beverage into a elementary school play rehearsal.

"Apple juice." Elizabeth snatched the water bottle out of his hand and took a small sip from it. To her surprise it was apple juice. "If you would be so kind." She begrudgingly returned it.

"Well let's go." As Elizabeth ushered her children out of the house and to the car Namine glanced back at her uncle in time to see him twist the entire top half off the water bottle to reveal a second, smaller water bottle underneath. He winked at his niece before popping the top off the second water bottle and taking a much longer drink from it. Namine suspected that it wasn't apple juice he was drinking this time.

-/-

Roxas could not remember a time when he'd ever been so bored in his life. Sora had it easy. His brother could fall asleep at any time and at any given place and sleeping was exactly what he was doing. Sora had taken up most of the couch, but that didn't stop him from snuggling against his brother's leg and no amount of shoving could move him.

Roxas eventually gave up and took up riffling through Sora's pockets instead. "Yes!" He pulled a slightly melted candy bar and a GameBoy SP out of his brother's pocket. Roxas didn't waste time before he started enjoying both. He had chocolate smeared all over his face and was just getting into his game when the executive floor's elevator dinged softly and opened. He paused his game and looked up. Only he and his brother were allowed on this floor after office hours. Even the secretary had cleared out an hour ago leaving the twins to die of boredom while they waited for their father. "Hey lady, I don't think you're supposed to be up here." The woman who'd walked out of the elevator turned towards him and smiled. Roxas felt his cheeks burn. The woman was very pretty with long brown hair and the most amazing pair of scarlet eyes he'd ever seen.

"Is he in a meeting?" Roxas gulped and nodded while rubbing at the chocolate covering his mouth.

"Dad should be finished soon though." He hopped off the couch, ignoring the disgruntled groan that Sora let out after losing his pillow, and ran to Cloud's office doors. "I'll get him for you." It wasn't so much that he wanted to help as it was that he just wanted something to do that didn't involve him sitting on his butt.

"I guess it's true then." The woman settled herself in Roxas's vacated spot and, though still asleep, Sora sought her out. It was like he was a warmth magnet. He rolled and wiggled around until he was mostly laying across the woman's lap.

-/-

"Dad's there's a lady here to-?" And there was a man standing in his father's office that he didn't know. He was tall with long silver hair and had the most unfriendly face Roxas ever had the displeasure of seeing, and yet it very lightly resembled his father's face. _Are they related? _He wondered when the man smiled down at him.

"Roxas." The young blond spared the unknown man another glance before running to his father. He attached himself to Cloud's leg and slightly shrank behind it. There had been nothing nice or genuine about the man's smile. "If you're finished."

"Of course." The man's polished black shoes clicked against the floor as he turned to leave. "Perhaps I should tell you to guard your heir well, but then again, you have two don't you? You can afford to loss either one." His eyes were trained on the little boy now completely hiding behind Cloud's legs.

_Is he talking about me and Sora?_

"Sephiroth. Leave. Now." The man gave a sort of 'hmfp' and walked out, breezing past Sora and the woman on the couch.

"Who was that man?" Cloud bended down, pick his son, and deposited him on the desk.

"No one important. Now, you were saying?"

"Oh yeah! There's this woman here to see you." Cloud arched a brow, looking at the door Sephiroth hadn't bothered to close on his way out. He could just barely see the form of a woman on the couch with Sora. "Don't worry. She's not a skank." Cloud's eyes bugged out.

"Where-where did you learn that word?"

"From Mister Leon." Roxas answered, a little confused when his father let out an agonized groan and what sounded like, "I'm going to kill Leon."

"Roxas, do me a favor and never say that word around your mother." The little blond nodded eagerly.

"Aw, he's just like his Daddy." The woman walked into the office with Sora hanging from her back. "Actually they're both like their Daddy. Incredibly adorable." She detached her little hitch-hiker and passed him to his father. "And for your information I am not a skank." She said, leaning down to tap Roxas on the nose. "You really shouldn't let your kids hang out with Leon if you don't want them repeating every dirty little thing he says."

"Mister Squally's the greatest!" Sora chimed in.

"I bet." The woman walked around the desk and plopped into Cloud's large and soft leather chair.

"Tifa, why are you here?"

"Oh, I just wanted to see if it was true. Cloud Strife married and with children." Tifa picked up one of the picture frames sitting in front of her. The photo showed two young boys covered in mud and holding a trophy. She put it down and moved on to the largest picture on the desk. It was of a young woman, looking sweaty and tired and cradling two tiny bundles wrapped in blue. "When do I get to meet the wife?"

"You don't." Suddenly the top of Sora's head was very interesting. "We're not married. Aerith turned me down."

"Why the hell would she do something stupid like that?"

"Tifa." She shot out of the chair and started pacing the room.

"What kind of idiot turns down a guy like you?"

"Tifa."

"I mean when I think about all the women who want to jump your bones and you just serve yourself up on a silver platter to her and she-"

"Tifa, you do know that my sons are still in here and listening to every word you're saying don't you?"

"Oh, oh yeah. They are, aren't they?" Roxas was grinning at her and Sora was no longer dangling from his father's neck. Cloud was holding his youngest son who had released him to clamp his hands over his ears. "Well, never mind that! What about this Aerith woman? Why'd she turn you down?"

"I don't know."

-/-

"Sora?" Roxas poked and prodded his brother, but it was like when they were kids. Sora didn't wake up unless he wanted to wake up. "Come on lazy ass, we'll be late." Finally giving up the subtle approach Roxas grabbed a Super Soaker and pumped it. "You asked for this." He emptied the contents of the water gun on his brother's head.

Aerith looked up at the ceiling. The fan above her wobbled dangerously and thuds resounded through the house. "Roxas, I'll kill you!"

"The kids are awake."

Roxas climbed out from underneath the assortment of objects his brother had try to kill him with. "That's must have been a good dream you were having." The murderous aura that had surrounded Sora slowly dissipated.

"I dreamt about the past. Remember when Mom and Dad met?"

"You dreamed about that?"

"Yeah." He rubbed at his now soggy crown of spikes. "I still don't get why she told him no."

"They're married now. What more do you want; a baby sister?" Roxas slung an arm around his brother's shoulder. "What I don't get is why Dad didn't get it then and why you don't get it now. Marriages made for the sake of children never work out. Our parents never stopped loving each other, but they needed time to figure out that their kind of love is the kind that lasts forever. The kind of love needed to make a commitment."

"You've been watching Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, haven't you?"

"Maybe. Now get up. We'll be late for our first day at the Institute."

-/-

That's nineteen pages worth of prologue, peoples, and it was fun to write. Sora and Roxas got the spotlight because they're the main characters. Chapter Two is where the real story begins so stay tuned for it.


	2. Our Ticket In

You guys rock! Now that that's out my system-Ahem- This chapter should clear up any questions about Sora and Roxas's age and Institute13. If anyone noticed that mistake I made in chapter 1 when I wrote that Namine was ten, yeah when I went back and changed all the characters' ages in editing I missed that by accident. In chapter 1 Sora, Roxas, Namine, and Kairi are all seven, Riku and Hayner are a year older, and Tidus is the youngest at six.

And Daifuku Obsessed, glad you liked my Uncle Jack.

**Disclaimer**: You ruined a perfectly good delusion. I don't own Kingdom Hearts, happy now? I also do not own _Return to Neverland_ or anything copyrighted(well duh, it's copyright) to it.

-/-

Sora could remember a time back when he and Roxas were four and had spent a day with the Kisaragis while their mother went to work. Mrs. Kisaragi had attacked the twins hair with a wet comb determined to get it to lay flat. When there was no such luck she pulled out a pair of scissors and cut Sora's hair. He distinctly remembered spending the rest of the day crying after that. Within a week, though his hair had grown back. Now as he passed his comb through his mess of tangle free brown quills he knew it was an scientific law. Strife men were destined to have spiky hair. No amount of combing, brushing, cutting, or gelling would change that.

Sora put the comb down and grabbed his shirt, pulling it over his head just as Roxas walked out of the bathroom in black checkered boxers, towel drying his hair and singing.

"So I'll try, cause I can finally believe. I'll try, cause I can see where you see. I'll try. I'll tr-What?" His brother always grinned at him like that when he heard him sing and it was always a little disturbing. "If you've got something to say about my singing then say it." Sora himself was totally and completely tone deaf. He was the total opposite of his brother who actually had a pretty decent voice.

"Man, have seen these uniforms?" Roxas fell over. Either his brother really didn't have anything to say or this was a very pitiful attempt to change the subject. "Seriously, Rox, check these things out. Are we going to high school or joining a cult?" Sora picked up the long black hooded cloak that had been laid out on his bed. "You realize that we'll die in this when the sun comes out."

"If you had bothered to read the rule book you'd know that we only have to wear that during class for the school year and on the first day it has to be on from the moment we step on campus to the moment we leave." Roxas grabbed his own black cloak and threw it on. "I look like an ass," he said, assessing his self in the mirror. He was wearing an extra small and the uniform still looked too big on him. Their father wasn't exactly a little man so why at fifteen were he and his brother so tiny for their age? "At least we're big where it counts."

"Who reads the school rule book?" Apparently his brother did. "They probably have rules about how long our sideburns can be and how many times we can get our ears pierced."

"Actually they do. It also says our shoe strings have to be pointed at two and ten o'clock and there's six boring pages worth of crap telling us what an honor and privilege it is to be attending Institute 13." It really was a privilege to attend the institute. To say it was prestigious was another way to say it was a school for the wealthy. Only the sons of the rich could afford the tuition and the institute didn't offer scholarships, but just having money wasn't enough for enrollment. The entrance exam for Institute 13 was true torture created to separate the intelligent rich kids from the spoiled, but it had little effect on rich kids who were both spoiled and smart. The twins would have been just as happy with going to a public school, but as they were the sons of Cloud Strife there was an image that needed to be kept.

"I could have sworn I ordered extra small." Aerith commented. Sora yelped and covered his self with his blanket even though he was fully clothed and Roxas blinked. When had she come in and why hadn't they noticed?

"Mom, don't you knock?" Sora, realizing how ridiculous he looked trying to hide what didn't need to be covered, dropped his blanket. "This is extra small." The only problem was that the twins were extra small too.

"Well I'm sure you'll grow into them." She handed them their book bags and said, "Unless you want to hitch a ride with your father you better leave now." Roxas glanced at his wristwatch.

"Oh crap! We're going to be late." Yelling a goodbye over his shoulder he ran out. Sora hugged their mother and then fell in step behind him. Aerith looked back at their unmade beds. Stretched across the foot of Sora's bed was a large gangly black dog and curled up on Sora's pillow was a slightly smaller black pup. Goofy and Max, still asleep. In the nest of blankets on Roxas's bed was the large white duck that had followed them home from the park when it was a tiny yellow duckling, Donald.

"All right you three. Time to get up."

-/-

Downstairs in the kitchen sat Cloud Strife fiddling with his tie. For the past ten minutes he'd struggled with the stupid piece of cloth and he still couldn't get it on correctly. Maybe Aerith was right about his neck being too thick. The typically white collar worker didn't have near as many muscles as he did so they probably had a more easier time getting a tie around their neck. "I blame the Olympus Coliseum." He yanked the tie off, giving up on fixing it and deciding to read the newspaper instead. At least he was going to read it before what could only be described as twin tornados tore passed him ripping the newspaper out of his hands and into the air and sending his hair flying back.

"Hi, Dad!"

"Bye, Dad!" The tornados said, slamming the kitchen door. Cloud caught his newspaper as it floated back down.

"I should start sitting downwind."

Sora snapped his rollerblades on and Roxas grabbed his skateboard. Together they raced outside and down the street, totally forgetting that they were still wearing their black cloaks.

-/-

Riku played with the zipper of his uniform while he lounged on the stairs. Last year at this time he would have been standing outside on the campus grounds with the rest of the underclassmen dieing under the sun in black. Fortunately this time around he was a second year and could stay inside the building with the wonderful air conditioner. Eventually though, he'd have to go outside. "I wonder how many will actually be desperate enough to sign up for this stuff." He picked up the clipboard the assistant principal had given him. Written on it were two electives: Home Economics and Theatre Arts. His job was to weed out the boys who only wanted to meet girls from the boys who really wanted to take the classes.

-/-

Roxas was only a meter behind him when Sora bladed around a corner and saw her. Again. She was walking down the sidewalk across from him with a few other people he faintly remembered seeing somewhere, but barely registered in his mind. He was at a really bad angle to truly see her, but his eyes were making the most of what was visible. The red hair, the slim waist and wide hips, those long slender legs her blue and white schoolgirl skirt did not and could not hide. She'd taken his breath away the first time he saw her and he didn't even know her name.

"Hey Sora, you're going to-WHAM!- hit that telephone pole." The brunette crumpled to the ground. "This is why Mom is always telling us to wear a helmet." Sora groaned while visions of his dream girl danced around his head. "Forget it." Roxas grabbed his brother's arm and hauled him to his wheels. "Just forget all about her, loverboy. That's a Destiny High uniform if I've ever seen one and once we set foot on institute property we won't see the opposite sex until the weekend."

"The weekend!" Roxas whacked him with his book bag. Sora hit the ground again.

"You make it very hard to believe that you passed the entrance exam without cheating. Isn't this," he pointed to their book bags, "a little too big and heavy to just be holding books?" Besides books their mother had also pack five days worth of clothes, socks, underwear, and toiletries.

"I knew that." Sora grumbled through a mouthful of grass. At seven o'clock AM on Monday Institute 13's gates were locked. No one could come in or out until the gates were unlocked at four o'clock PM on Friday. "I just.. kind of… forgot."

"Well just kind of forgot her too." Roxas helped him back up, which was reasonable since he knocked him down in the first place, and then the two brothers were off.

"Forget her, huh. Easier said than done." Especially when memory of their meeting was so fresh in his mind.

-/-

Sora was sitting on a trust fund and was one of the only two heirs to Strife Enterprise. His father was a multimillionaire and his mother was a successful doctor. The was no real reason as to why he was working at a dinky fast food restaurant for minimum wage other than the fact that he liked the greasy employee discounted food. Seriously, Food of Wonders sold heart attacks on buns. Sora worked there for the experience.

"Hey Sora, could you do me a favor?" The teen stopped mopping the linoleum and gave the young man talking to him his full attention. "Listen, Genie and Carpet are getting backed up in the kitchen. Think you can bus the tables alone while I help them? I'd ask Abu, but he's handling the cash register and I haven't seen Iago since he took out the trash twenty minutes ago."

"No prob, Al." The Arabian boy clapped him on the shoulder.

"Thanks man." Sora put the mop away, found a pen and ticket book, and walked up to the first table that looked ready to order. It was a table full teenagers.

"Welcome to Food of Wonders. How may I serve you?"

"Yeah, uh.." One of them, a blond boy with long hair, said while squinting at his nametag, "Sora. I'll have a double cheeseburger, cut the onions, and a coke." He carefully recorded each person's orders.

"And you miss?" He asked of the only one at the table still studying the menu. She looked up and suddenly he couldn't remember how to breathe. She said something. He didn't hear a word of it, but nodded anyway and walked off. It took him three seconds to realize he didn't have her order, two minutes to go back to her table and embarrassedly ask for it again, five seconds to get his hands to stop shaking long enough for him to write her order down, and only six seconds to ride cloud nine back to the kitchen.

-/-

Yes, their meeting was very fresh in his mind.

-/-

"My God, if there's a fat kid some where in there I bet you ten munny he's out cold." Roxas said, staring at the black sea that consisted of their fellow first years.

"Heh, he wouldn't be the only one." More than half of the boys outside were sweating buckets Sora noticed as he surveyed to area, but the dieing students weren't the only thing that caught his attention. "Why's that fence on the east side different from the others?" It was built a few feet higher and the top was lined with barbed wire.

"Check out what's on the other side." He crossed the field to do just that.

"Rox, is that-?" Destiny High sat directly next to Institute 13. There was nothing more than a metal fence between the schools. A single obstacle separating them. Separating Sora from her. This lifeless barrier was what stood in his way of knowing her, but not for long if he could help it.

"What the hell are you doing! Get down from there, idiot!" Roxas jumped on his brother and latched onto his waist hoping to bring him down with added weight, but Sora kept climbing like he didn't have a fifteen year old clinging to his middle like a chimp. "Sora, I don't want to get a demerit on my first day, maybe second or third day okay, but not on my first! Get down! Whoa!" One minute he was on the fence. The next he was kissing the pavement.

"Ouch."

-/-

"This kind of stuff needs to be filed under cruel and unusual punishment." And yet for some reason the sight of so many pampered boys panting in the heat and fanning themselves was oddly amusing to Riku. Of course it might have had something to due with the fact that he'd be back inside the air conditioned school once he made a quick round outside.

"What the hell are you doing! Get down from there, idiot!" Riku had seen his fair share of stupid stunts, especially those performed by inexperienced and gullible underclassmen, but this one took the cake. What kind of desperate fool tried to scale a barbed wired fence? "Sora, I don't want to get a demerit on my first day," he wasn't sure if he was doing it on a whim, "maybe second or third day okay," but his feet were carrying him towards the yelling, "but not on my first!" They carried him all the way to the two boys on the fence and he jumped. "Get down!" He caught the brunette's legs and with his weight added to the blond's they all came tumbling down. "Whoa!" And landed right on top of him.

"Ouch." Riku managed to raise himself to his hands and knees and the boys rolled off. "There are easier ways to meet girls." The blond sent the brunette a withering glare. "You two are first years, aren't you?" They nodded.

"I'm Sora Strife and the scowling one is my brother, Roxas. Who are you?"

Maybe he was still doing all of this on a whim, but then did the reason really matter? "Riku Yasutora, second year." _If I get in trouble for this, it'd probably be worth it. _"Your ticket to the only coed classes Institute 13 has to offer."

-/-

Sora being tone deaf and Roxas having a great signing voice? Yeah I'm making (harmless) fun of their English voice actors Haley Joel Osment and Jesse McCartney. The song Roxas is singing is _I'll Try _from _Return to Neverland_. Jesse sings it on the Disney Mania 4 CD.

Roxas and the skateboard is understandable, but Sora and the rollerblades? I got the idea while watching him glide along the ground in Wisdom Form.

The Food of Wonders? What can I say? I have no imagination and my first and second choices were Happy Burger and Burger Fool.

It is an absolute must that I finish this fic before July 12, 2006 so expect updates often. Why is it an absolute must? Because July 12, 2006 is the day I ship out for Basic Training for the US Army Reserve and we aren't even allowed to email our families during training so I'm just going to practically drop off the face of the earth for about a year. Oh well, that's why I'm up at 5:35 AM right now writing.

Check back for Chapter Three: Sora meets Kairi! Roxas meets Namine! The Strife twins meet big brother Hayner! And Riku has an unfortunate accident with an egg! Oh the joys of Home Economics.


	3. Real Men Bake

**Disclaimer:** Yeah, I wish.

-/-

"Follow me." Riku had said. He and the twins weaved through the other students and around to the west side of the institute. He led them to a small window and after motioning to them to be quiet and checking to make sure no one else had followed Riku pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and unlocked it. "If you two never tell anyone about this we'll live to see graduation." He popped the window opened and slipped inside.

"Don't worry. Our lips are sealed." Sora replied as he and Roxas dropped into the room via the small window. "This some kind of storage room?" The place was cluttered with broken desks, gym equipment, and cleaning supplies. Cleaning supplies that he could tell was never used by looking at the dozens of cobwebs surrounding them and the layers of dust the covered everything.

"Yeah." Riku knocked the junk sitting on one of the unbroken desks on the floor and sat on the now cleaned surface. Roxas followed his example and Sora simply settled on an upturned bucket. "Here's the deal. The school boards have been fighting for decades on consolidation."

"Consolidation? What, you mean with the institute and Destiny?" It made some sense to Roxas.

"Yep, it's because the schools were built so closely together, but you know spoiled little rich boys have spoiled rich parents. They keep the pressure on the school boards to keep the schools separate. Probably because they don't want their future moguls mingling with lower and middle class kids, but they don't have the board completely in their pockets. As sort of a trial basis on consolidation the board created two electives that can be taken as coed only for the institute. You sign up for these classes and you take them with Destiny High students." Sora groaned.

"They're probably impossible to get in to too." He could just imagine the amount of boys who'd already signed up. The classes had to be filled by now. He might as well say goodbye to his chances of ever meeting her. _Maybe if I sneak out after sunset I can jump the fence without worrying about these two stopping me. No, that won't work! She won't be at school after sunset, you retard… I just insulted myself._

"They are impossible to get in to, if you don't know the right people." Riku waved the clipboard in front of Sora's face and once he read what it said he snatched it out of the older teen's hand and bounced to his feet.

"Hell yeah! What are you waiting for? Sign us up!"

"Sora, can I see that?" Sora handed the clipboard to his brother and after Roxas cracked it over his head he immediately wished he hadn't. "What's the story on these classes?"

"Theatre Arts is taught by Mr. Skellington. Unless you like show tunes it's not a class I'd recommend; Home Economics is a good choice though. Mrs. Potts teaches that one."

"Sounds good. Sign us up." Sora childishly stuck his tongue out at Roxas while he nursed the growing lump on his head.

-/-

"You wanted to see me, Diz-er I mean, sir?" Ansem chuckled softly and closed his office door.

"It's all right, Riku. We're not among staff. You may call me Diz in private." Seven years ago Riku had picked up the habit of calling him that. Before he had used the name Mr. Wise for his adoptive parent. Despite the fact that Ansem was at one point in time his mother's husband, the man was not his father and Riku didn't feel comfortable referring to him as such. It was, however, at Ansem insistence of Riku calling him something other than Mr. Wise that the name Diz came about. "Have you finished your assignment?"

"Yes sir." Riku adverted his eyes after handing over the clipboard, but he had enough self control not to fidget while Ansem studied the names.

"And these boys are sincerely interested in taking the classes? No overactive hormones?"

"None that I know of." He said all but glaring at the many degrees and awards hanging on the walls in his determination to not look at the principal. This time Ansem didn't just chuckle, he laughed, loudly.

"You're a horrible liar, son. I think it's best that I add your name to this list as well so that you may keep an eye on the ones you snuck in. Theatre Arts, perhaps?" A look of absolute horror crossed Riku's face. "Home Economics it is then."

"Yippe." The Strife twins weren't the only ones he'd, as Ansem put it, snuck in.

-/-

"Let's see, our first class is Biology with Dr. Finkelstein. Second period is Phys Ed with Mr. Saytr, he sounds familiar doesn't he?"

"I think he used to be a famous boxing coach or something like that."

"Aa." Sora picked up where he left off. "Basic Computers with Mr. Bradly, okay I know I've heard of this guy before."

"You should have. He had diner at our house two weeks ago." Roxas rapped his knuckles on his brother's head. "ENCOM? Tron? Big contract and partnership with Strife Enterprise? Any of this ringing a bell for you?"

"Shut up." Sora remembered him now, but why was such an important man working for the institute? "Anyway after that we have Geometry, yuck, with Mr. Porter. Then there's lunch, Language with Ms. Porter, must be related, History with Mr. Sid, and finally Home Ec with Mrs. Potts. Man, it's the last class of the day."

"Look at it this way Sora. You'll have plenty of time to practice what you'll say to her." Roxas was only joking, but by the panicked expression on his brother's face he knew Sora was taking him seriously.

"Crap! I haven't even thought of that! I don't even know what I'm going to wear! Ahh! What did Mom pack for us?" He was pacing the length of the hallway, pulling at his hair and babbling like a lunatic. "What if I open my mouth and nothing comes out or worse? Oh God, what if I stutter or have bad breath?"

"Okay little bro, you're officially starting to scare me." _Doesn't know what he's going to wear? Either he's forgotten that we wear our uniforms in every class or he's completely lost it. _

"I don't know what I was thinking. I can't do this! I can't-Omfp!" He apparently couldn't walk and ramble insanely at the same time without bumping into someone. "Sorry, man, didn't see you there." He reached a hand down to help up the guy he'd laid flat.

"Man? Look pal, just because I work here and have short hair doesn't mean I'm a guy. I'll have you know I-Sora?"

"Yeah, that's my name." He pulled the lady to her feet and took a good look at her. "Yuffie? Whoa!" It was amazing how such a small woman could give such bone crushing hugs. "Yuffie? Yuffie, Sora can't breathe, dear." He gasped. She released him and caught Roxas in a headlock before he could get away.

"I can't believe this." She said while grinding her fist into Roxas's head. She really missed giving him noogies. "The last time I saw you guys you barely reached my waist." Looking at them now she didn't know if they were just very short for their age or if she was really tall. They were roughly the same height.

"Yuffie, stop! I'm not a little kid anymore. You can't do this!"

"Hah! As long as I can still get you in a headlock Roxy, I can give you a noogie." Yuffie let him go anyway and he would have fell to the ground had Sora not caught him by the arm. "I should have known you two would be here. I mean Institute 13 is where all the fabulous wealthy send their sons."

"What are you doing here? Last I checked you're neither the latter nor the former." The day after she'd help him find his father he and Roxas had run over to her house to tell her the good news about their parents. Mr. Kisaragi had answered the door and told them that she'd gone ahead with her mother and brother. Sora hadn't even known that her family was moving away.

"Very funny. It's like I said, I work here. I'm Mr. Saytr's aid."

"I thought you said you were going to work at your father's dojo when you were old enough? Change of plans? Yikes!" If looks could kill-Well Roxas was grateful he wasn't that poor water fountain Yuffie was glaring at.

"If it wasn't for Shang I would be."

"Your brother?" Sora barely remembered him. Shang was much older than the there of them so he hadn't been around much whenever he and his brother were with Yuffie, but he did remember enough about him. He took after his father a lot; tall, dark, serious, strong and with a face that could frighten small children under the right circumstances. He and his father, Auron Kisaragi, had certainly scared Sora and Roxas plenty when they were little.

"The one and only. Chauvinistic pig with a keyblade up his ass, but let's not talk about him." Or talk about how badly he made her want to shove a shuriken down his throat. "I need to get going anyway. Mr. Saytr will kill me if I'm late again. I'll see you guys around." With that Yuffie was gone, but this time they knew they would be seeing her again.

-/-

"What's up with your brother's face?" Selphie asked Tidus.

"He's disappointed." Tidus snickered. Hayner was slouched down in his chair, sulking and looking like he'd rather be anywhere but where he was right now. Actually it was not just a look, he really wanted to be somewhere else. "He didn't find out Olette wasn't taking Home Ec this year until after he signed up for it."

Hayner suddenly sneezed. _Someone's talking about me. Probably Tidus._

"You could at least act like you want to be in this class." Kairi said.

"For your information I'm not here for me or Olette, who could have told me she was taking art this year. I'm here for you and Namine." The sisters shared a look that clearly said, 'Yeah Right!' "I serious! Everyone knows that Home Ec and Theatre Arts are the only coed classes Institute 13 have and there's no way I'm leaving my little sisters alone so they can get jumped by some horny rich boy."

"Tidus is taking this class too, you know." Hayner scoffed and waved off what Namine said.

"Okay, our little brother can't even keep track of his pet chipmunks, let alone you two. Besides," he leaned in close to his sisters to whisper, "we all know he only took this class because Selphie is taking it. He'll be too busy hitting on her to help."

"I heard that, Hayner!" Tidus yelled from across the room.

"What I say?" He asked skeptically.

"I don't know, but I know you were whispering about me so shut up!"

"Quiet before I tape freshmen to your back and send a bunch of juniors and seniors after you!" He turned back to Kairi and Namine. "Plus the kid's fresh meat. No upperclassmen is going to take him seriously." Namine sighed and Kairi groaned while massaging her temples. Something told her today was not going to be a good day.

-/-

"Move it, you damn shrimps." A boy, probably in his third year, with wild red hair that put the twins' hair to shame and green eyes shoved Sora and Roxas out of the way. He walked into Home Ec, dropped into the closest empty chair, and propped his feet up on the desk.

"Axel." Riku answered the unasked question.

"So what's Axel's damage?" And where did he get off calling him and Sora shrimps? Sure Axel was real tall and he and his brother were.. Okay maybe shrimps was what they were, but he didn't have the right to call them that.

"Nothing. He's just an asshole." Riku said with a shrug as if it were common knowledge. "Today he's picking on short people and tomorrow he'll set a chemistry lab on fire."

"Why?"

"Because he's an asshole. Just ask him and he'll tell you himself. He's pretty proud of it." He pointed out a few empty desk towards the back of the classroom and they quickly settled into them.

"Didn't think you'd be taking Home Ec too, Riku." The silver haired teen snorted and looked away from Sora.

"Hadn't planned too either, but Diz knew I'd snuck a few names onto the list and this is his way of punishing me." Before he could ask who Diz was the tardy bell rang and the last class of the day began.

"Good afternoon, class!"

-/-

Their first assignment was something easy. "We'll start at a slow pace today just so you all can get a feel of the class. Be prepared for next week because it shall be much harder. It's a little unorthodox, but they've changed the curriculum and what would have been a midyear project is now our first. I believe the board plans to weed out the ones who don't honestly want to take Home Economics before it's too late for them to get a schedule change and they lose a credit." Mrs. Potts had said. "And Axel," she picked up a wooden spoon, "your feet do not belong on my desk!" She hit him over the head with the spoon and Axel's feet met the floor.

Sora found that she was right. Today's assignment was to bake a simple one layer cake. The students were allowed to pick any flavor they wanted and they didn't have to decorate it or put any type of icing on it if they didn't feel like doing so. The only requirement was that the cake be edible. Mrs. Potts even allowed them to work in groups. Which was a very fortunate thing for the lovesick brunette who was too busy staring across the room at one particular auburn haired girl to pay any real attention to what he was doing.

-/-

"Kairi, is my imagination or is that guy staring at you?" It was almost creepy the way the brunette on the other side of the room stared at her friend. Every once in a while the blond or the silver haired one sitting next to him would prod him with something sharp and he'd jerk his attention back to their cake batter. Seconds later though he'd be back to staring at Kairi.

"Selphie that's the tenth guy you've said that about in the last twenty minutes. I'm starting to think it's your imagination."

"Those other nine guys don't count." How was she to know that the girls track team was practicing right outside the window behind them? "Hey the blond's looking over here too." The blond said something to the brunette and both boys turned back to their work. "I swear I've seen him somewhere before-Oh my God! That's our busboy." Selphie whispered harshly. "Our busboy goes to the institute."

-/-

Roxas put down the butter knife he'd used to stab his brother's shoulder several times and grabbed him by his cloak. In his twin's defense the girl was attractive though he didn't think she had anything on the blond girl next to her. When Roxas had walked into class and seen her only one word went through his mind. _Damn!_ "Sora, stop staring before she notices."

"Hey could one of you pass me the eggs?"

-/-

"I still think it's the track team he's interested in and that can't be our busboy. Institute boys don't have jobs." Selphie huffed.

"Well if he isn't our busboy then who is he, because I know I've seen him somewhere? Him and that blond boy and he is looking at you!"

"Kairi, flip your hair." Namine received 'Are You Crazy?' stares. "Trust me. Just look in their direction and flip it."

-/-

"Huh? Oh yeah I'll get them." Sora grabbed three eggs and stood up so he could pass them over Roxas. At that exact moment Kairi did as Namine told her and flipped her hair while facing him. He felt his chest tighten and so did his hands. His hands holding the eggs. The eggs which were not only fragile but were also being held right over Riku's lap. The yoke was on the silver haired teen within seconds.

"Sora!"

"Aw man, I'm so sorry Riku!" Green eyes narrowed into a furious glare Riku grabbed the unfinished bowl of cake batter. "Really I am!"

"No you're not. You're not sorry at all, but," he stood and Roxas scooted his chair back. "You are now." Riku dumped the bowl on Sora's head and twirled it around to really work the cake batter in the brunette's hair. "And I mean that in the most pitiful sense of the word." Roxas fell out his chair laughing. Sora glared down at him before a scheming smirk crossed his face. He looked at Riku through the dripping batter and the teen stared back passed his bangs. In a silent agreement they grabbed the half empty bag of flour and turned it over on Roxas.

"Strife! Yasutora!" Mrs. Potts screamed.

"Which one?" The twins asked.

"The both of you! And I expected better from you, Riku."

-/-

"And that proves that he was looking at you, Kairi." It also proved that he was unbelievable clumsy or that he had it bad.

"Namine."

-/-

Sora left Home Ec wearing his assignment and without completing his true objective. Actually having a real conversation with her. At least thanks to the roll call he now knew what her name was. "Kairi." Even her name was beautiful. "I made a fool out of myself." He didn't doubt that she'd noticed him gaping at her like an idiot. "There's always tomorrow."

Unfortunately for Sora tomorrow wasn't his day either. Axel found some way to sneak into the institute's cafeteria and stole an extra long weenie from one of the refrigerators. He tucked the weenie in his pants and then used it to flash every girl in Home Economics until he flashed Kairi and Namine. Hayner grabbed the nearest sharp object, a very large cleaver which was ridiculously easy for him to get, and chopped Axel's extra long out of his pants.

"Unless you want him to use that cleaver on your meat you should probably stay away from her." Roxas had advised when it became clear that Hayner was going to spend the rest of the period guarding over his sisters.

"Riku's right. Axel is an asshole."

-/-

"Okay class," Mrs. Potts was holding an ice pack to her brow. The last period was the most stressful. "After yesterday's fiasco," she glared at Axel, "I've decided to move next week's project to today." Because she really needed to drop the testosterone level and this was a sure fire way to send a lot of these boys packing. "You can bring them in now Ms. Kisaragi." The door flew open and Yuffie walked in wheeling a large cart. "Thank you again, for helping."

"Phil doesn't have a class this period. It's not like I was doing anything." Yuffie faced the class and winked at the Strife twins.

"Now before I tell you what's in the cart I need everyone to pair up. No, remain seated," she said when people began moving, "I've picked your partners. Move to sit besides them after I've called their name." Mrs. Potts straightened her reading glasses and then read the first name. "Axel, you'll be paired with Larxene."

"Why am I paired with the psycho chick? She tried to stab me in the neck with a spork yesterday!" Mrs. Potts continued reading names as if she hadn't heard him.

"Sora," he crossed his fingers, "your partner is Kairi-" Sora jumped out his seat.

"Yes!" The blood rushed to his face and he sunk back into his chair. "Did-did I say that out loud?" Selphie giggled and nudged Kairi. The girl's face now matched her hair.

"Right.. Roxas, you're with Namine."

"Sweet." He was smart enough to not yell it out.

"Tidus you're with Selphie." The fourteen year old gave his partner an enthusiastic wave from his desk. "Riku, I'm pairing you with Hayner."

"What!" Both boys yelled.

"It doesn't normally happen but this class has more boys than girls. You two are the odd ones out. Deal with it. Now what are you all waiting for? Find your partner." Sora stood up to move. Roxas shoved him back down and inclined his head towards the girls. Kairi was coming to him.

"Good luck." He left to join his own partner and slammed into Hayner. "Hello."

"Don't think I don't know what you rich boys are after. I'm warning you now, don't mess with my sisters." The older boy said, scowling and emphasizing every word with a sharp poke to Roxas's chest.

"All right, I'll consider myself warned." Hayner bumped him hard with his shoulder as he passed.

"Sora, right?" The brunette's head shot up. Kairi gave him a friendly smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and sitting down.

_Oh God, she's talking to me. Quick! Say something._ "I'm Sora."

"Well Sora, this might sound kind of weird, but do you work at Food of Wonders?" He grinned a big and goofy smile.

"I'm Sora." Was his intelligent answer. Kairi couldn't help but laugh. _You idiot! She knows that! _"Uh, I mean yeah I work there. I'm a-a busboy." Before she could ask anything else Mrs. Potts tapped her wooden spoon on her desk, calling everyone's attention to the front.

"Now that I have everybody's attention. Ms. Kisaragi, open the cart please." Yuffie yanked the top off the cart, reached inside, and pulled out a giant egg. It looked like a giant egg at least. It was large, white, and oval shaped, but it also had a face and it's face was giggling softly. And was that a blanket it was wrapped in? "This will be your baby."

"Oh I'm not liking the sound of this." For some reason Roxas felt he had a great need to be very afraid.

Yuffie handed the giant egg over to Mrs. Potts. "As you can see they are very lifelike. The sleep, cry, laugh, eat, and soil their diapers." As she talked Yuffie walked around the classroom passing out papers. "Your assignment for the next two weeks is to take care of your baby. Each one is equipped with software that monitors your parenting skills. Your grade depends on how good a parent you are and if you should drop them," Mrs. Potts let the egg baby in her hands go and it hit the ground. Its giggling stopped abruptly and cracks spider webbed across its face. "You automatically fail." Sora sniffled and quickly adverted his face when Kairi glanced his way. The last thing he needed was for her to see him crying over a dead egg. "Institute students, the principal has granted you a pass for the duration of this project."

"And that means?"

"It means Mr. Strife that for the next ten school days you and your fellow classmates will be allowed to leave campus grounds. I expect that it is a privilege that you'll use wisely." Yuffie was back at the cart, pulling more eggs from it. "Once you have received your baby from Ms. Kisaragi fill out the form on your desk." Namine and Roxas, who were seated closer to the cart than the rest of the class, were given an egg baby first.

"So how do you tell what it is?" Roxas peeked inside the its diaper. It offered no clues, but it raised a question. _How does this thing piss or take a dump? It doesn't have any parts down here._ Namine plucked the baby out of his hands.

"He was wrapped in a blue blanket." The blond boy wrote the gender down. "And his name is Hikaru."

"So I don't get any say on his name?"

"Considering that you didn't even know we had a son? Nope."

_Touché_. Roxas stood up, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Hey Sora! Kairi! You guys want to be the godparents?"

-/-

That's all for now. The real romance will start in Chapter 4 so watch out for it. Especially since romance isn't really my forte, but I'm trying to improve my ability.

Digimon ruler. 9-If you finish it before the 12th I'd love to see it.


	4. Ask Me a Question

You would think that with me being the hopeless romantic that I am writing romance would come just a little bit more easily to me than it actually does.

**Disclaimer: **When pigs fly and fire lasers out of their snouts(I was going to say ass, butit just didn't sound right).

At this moment Roxas felt that if his mother were to walk through the classroom door at this very minute he'd get down on his knees and beg her forgiveness for just being born. He'd even yank Sora down on the ground with him. "How do you make it shut up?" Shaking it was apparently not one of the ways you made it shut up.

"Roxas, stop that! Are you trying to kill him?" Namine snatched their egg baby back from him and cradled Hikaru in her arms, gently rocking him. The baby immediately quieted down. Across the room Sora was fairing about as well as his brother.

"Um- Kairi? She's making a funny face." He put the bottle down on his desk and held the egg at arm's length, staring at it with an arched brow.

"Baby's usually have gas after a feeding. Just burp her." After receiving a very clueless and pleading look she instructed Sora on the correct way to burp a baby. He patted the egg's back once. Twice. Then grimaced. "What's wrong?"

"Mrs. Potts never said anything about them spitting up." Sora replied, shivering as a cold white liquid slid down his neck. "You want to hold Sayu now?"

"Hey it's kind of cute." Hayner gave his egg the once over. "This project may not be so bad." He decided just before the simulator in his hands let out an ear piercing scream that scared him into nearly dropping it. "It wants you!" He tossed the egg to Riku.

"Be careful with Light." Riku set the egg on the edge of his knee and started bouncing his leg. It fortunately had the desired effect. He stopped screaming and started laughing instead.

"You named it?" Riku stared at him as if that were the dumbest question he could have asked and then handed him the form.

"Write it down. We're supposed to name them."

"You named it, Light?" Hayner recorded the name anyway. "Light Mitsuru."

"Light what?" The silver haired teen snatched the pen back, scratched out the name Mitsuru and wrote his own last name in its place.

"What did you do that for?"

"You won't even hold him." There was no way the baby was getting Hayner's last name. "You're the wife in this relationship so he's going by my last name."

"No way! You're the one mothering it. You should be the wife, pretty boy." Riku looked like a chick with all that long hair. _He's more of the woman here than me._

"Like hell I am!" Light began to scream again. "Shhh. It's okay."

"Mr. Yasutora. Mr. Mitsuru." Mrs. Potts said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "As entertaining as this lover's spat is you two are disturbing the other families." The two boys looked around the classroom just now noticing the numerous couples shooting them irritated glares as they tried to hush their crying eggs. "The bell will ring in two minutes-thank God- so everyone hand your forms to Ms. Kisaragi and clean up."

"So um…" Was about all Sora could manage to say while he watched Kairi pack the baby bag that had been given to every couple for the project.

"Meet me outside the school gates?" He settled on a nod. "Great." The bell rung just as Kairi slung the baby bag over her shoulder and picked Sayu up. "Bye Sora."

-/-

"Hey Sora? You know since you're my little brother I love you all, but," he grabbed his brother's cloak and pulled him close so he could speak directly into his ear, "if you don't stop fidgeting I'm going to ram your head through a wall!"

"You just never get to see brotherly love like this anymore." Roxas released his hold and turned towards the voice. "How's life at the institute treating the Strife clones?"

"Clones are identical in every way, Cid. What are you doing here?" Sora asked. The man shrugged his shoulders and leaned back against the black stretch limousine he'd driven to Institute 13 in.

"Hell if I know. Your father said you two would be needing a ride home from school so here I am. The Strife family's private chauffer." Cid hooked his thumb at the limo. "Now get your asses in."

"We can't!" Sora slapped his hand over his mouth. _That couldn't have sounded any more desperate if I tried._ "I mean we can't because um-we can't leave.." He pushed his fingertips together and started fidgeting again.

"Sora!" The poor boy nearly jumped a foot into the air. "You didn't wait long, did you?" Kairi ran up to him carrying two baby bags along with double the load of backpacks. Namine was just a step behind her with Hikaru and Sayu in her arms, trailing even farther behind was them Tidus and Selphie, and dragging his feet in the rear was Hayner, who wasn't carrying more than his own backpack.

"No, not long." Sora mumbled, lowering his head and tugging at his zipper. "You uh-You want to walk home together?" Before Kairi could answer Cid reached into the front seat of the limo and sounded the horn several times.

"Hello, I still exist and my orders are to take you two straight home. You can flirt on your-"

"How about you guys ride home with us?" Roxas asked, jumping in front of Cid and cutting him off mid-sentence.

"What!" Cid and Hayner yelled. "No way!" They paused and stared at each other. Hayner quieted down, but Cid continued yelling. "I'm a private chauffer not a taxi driver! I don't have the time or the gas to waste driving your little friends home."

-/-

"And yet somehow I'm driving their little friends home anyway." Cid sighed as he used the rearview mirror to spy into the back of the limo. He had five more passengers than he'd planned on having . "You brats are going home first, got it?"

"Brats!"

"You know he's talking about us, right?" Roxas asked. Namine yanked her brother back into his seat before he could dive into the front and try to pummel Cid.

"Here." Namine said, placing Hikaru in her partner's arms.

"Why are you giving him to me!" She'd held the egg all throughout class and Roxas had been perfectly content to let her do so.

"Because he clashes with my outfit." Was the very dry response. "Seriously, you need to learn how to hold a baby." The blond boy let out an agonized groan. She chose to ignore it. "Support his-well a head is kind of all he is so support that." While the two blonds practiced their parenting skills Selphie turned to Sora deciding this was as good a time as any to get some answers from him.

"Who's that hot institute boy that sits next to you in class?"

"Huh?" What kind of question was that to ask a guy? Especially one like Sora who wouldn't know a hot boy if one strolled up to him and slugged him. "My brother?"

"He is! Why isn't he here?" Sora stared from her to Roxas and back and then looked to her friends silently asking if it was normal for her to act the way she was. Kairi treated him with a shrug, but Tidus stared back with the same venomous glare Hayner was shooting at his brother. What exactly did they have against him and Roxas anyway?

"What are you talking about? My brother's right there." Sora said, pointing at his twin.

"Not him! I meant the boy with the silver hair!" Why on earth did he think she wanted to know about his clone?

"If you wanted to know about Riku you could have just said so," he scratched the back of his neck, "but he doesn't sit next to me in Home Ec, Roxas does. Riku sits on the other side of him." If this were an anime Selphie would have sweat dropped. As she was she just slapped her hand over her eyes and leaned back into the leather seats.

-/-

The teenagers followed Cid in single file up to the Strife household. When they were two steps away from the door Sora and Roxas stepped to the side of the walkway. Cid advised the others to do the same. "Why should we?" The chauffer snorted and told Hayner, "Don't say I didn't warn ya." Thinking it best to do what they were told all except the one skeptic joined the twins off to the side. Cid unlocked door and then jerked it open, stepping back quickly to practically disappear behind it.

"Get it off! Get it off!" Hayner hadn't known what had bowled him over until it was sitting on top of him blowing hot smelly air into his face. "Get this mutt off me!" The mutt sniffed him a little and then growling jumped off Hayner and padded over to Roxas.

"Don't jump on me I'm holding a baby!" Goofy raised his self up on his hind legs, sniffed at the egg in the blond's arms and licked it. Hikaru giggled.

"Stupid dog." Hayner didn't even make it to his knees before he was trampled again by another, but much smaller, mutt. "Damn it!"

"I did warn ya."

"Max." Sora crouched down, holding out his palm as the pup ran to him. "Here boy." The little dog shot passed his owner without a backwards glance. "Hey." Max ran circles around Kairi, yipping and hopping every few steps and wagging his tail excitedly.

"Got any more mutts in here?" Hayner asked, watching his sisters and Selphie fawn over the little dog that had bounced off his head.

"Naw, they ain't got any more dogs, but they do have-" Cid began.

"Ouch!" Hayner yelped, flying away from the doorway with his hands gripping his rear.

"One very foul tempered duck." Cid finished. Donald clicked his beak and waddled back into the house.

"Okay that's it! I don't care if we have to walk, we're going home now!" Though he could chalk it up to an overactive imagination Roxas swore there was steam rising from the blond teen's head.

-/-

"I got an idea!" Roxas said leaning against the door. Sora was the one who'd asked the sisters if they wanted to walk to school with them so why was this so difficult for him? "Instead of staring at this big hunk of oak forever how about we knock on it and let Namine and Kairi know that we're standing out here?"

"You're a riot, Rox." Sora grumbled, pulling his brother to the left so he could knock. To the twins surprise neither Kairi or Namine answered the door. "Uh, sorry, guess we got the wrong house." He took a few hesitant steps back, staring up at the strange brunette who'd answered the door.

"You two would be Zola and Rucksack, right?" There was less than six letters in both of their names. How could anyone mispronounce them that horribly?

"Zola and Rucksack?" Before Roxas could say anything more Namine shot out from behind her uncle, snatching his wrist and nearly ripping his arm out of his socket in her haste to drag him off.

"Let's go!" Sora yelped as he was shoved hard on the back. His wheels flew out from underneath him, but he managed to regain his balance.

"Kairi, what are you doing?" Sora looked over his shoulder at the girl pushing against him. "Why are we in such a hurry?"

"We're hurrying because any minute now Hayner is going to realize, or Uncle Jack is going to open his big mouth, that me and Namine are walking to school with you two and he's going to come rampaging after us." He didn't need telling twice. Sora stopped resisting and started blading, though not so fast that Kairi couldn't keep up with him. "It be nice to have a conversation with you without my brother breathing down our necks."

"Um, can I ask you something?" Kairi looked up at Sora, giving him her full attention. "You and Namine, you guys look a lot alike, but your brothers-"

"Don't look anything like us?" She laughed. "It's actually pretty weird that Namine and I could almost pass for twins."

"But you're sisters." He said, a little confused. Their facial features were so similar and they were the same age, weren't they? It had honestly shocked him that they weren't twins like he and Roxas were. _Wait, now that I think about it Kairi and Namine don't have the same last name and neither do Tidus and Hayner. What's the deal?_

"We're not blood related. None of us are."

"So, you were," he started lining up the pieces, "adopted?" Sora guess.

"Yeah." Will and Elizabeth Turner had adopted her when she was two. Some times it felt strange to think that even though she was their first child Hayner was the oldest. "Now can I ask you something?"

"Anything." Was Sora's instant answer.

"Why Food of Wonders?"

"Okay, see about that…"

-/-

It was a bit of a shock for the last period Home Economics class to find the young Yuffie Kisaragi sitting at Mrs. Potts desk instead of the teacher herself. "She had a breakdown during sixth period." Yuffie told Sora when he asked for their teacher.

"I thought that was her good class?" The teacher's aid snickered and ruffled the blond boy's hair. Roxas scowled and shrugged her hand off.

"It is her one of her best classes until Axel the asshole set a snake loose in the classroom. Can you imagine how all those girly girls reacted to this huge constrictor slithering around their feet?" How Axel managed to sneak not only himself, but a snake onto Destiny High campus before his scheduled class period was a mystery the red head was keeping tight lipped about.

"Kairi," Selphie whispered, jabbing her friend with her pencil, "that sub is trying to take your guy. Hey she's after Namine's guy too." She said, watching what was perhaps the strangest interaction between a substitute and student. Roxas was dodging and ducking behind his brother which didn't do him any good. Yuffie caught him by the hood of his uniform, locked her arm around his neck, and then let go of his uniform so her hand was free to grind into his scalp.

"Selphie you're insane." Despite what the red head might think Selphie wasn't taking chances. When Tidus passed her on his way over to Wakka's desk she grabbed the boy by his arm and yanked him into the desk besides her. Looking a little stunned for a second the blond freshmen stood up and tried to leave. The girl yanked him back down by his belt loops.

"Stay." Selphie ordered. Knowing that there was no escape the boy nodded his head and settled back.

-/-

Sayu had fallen asleep in his lap and Kairi was using the very rare quiet to finish her homework. Not wanting to bother her Sora found other means to entertain himself. His other means was flicking eraser bits at Riku's head. Every time a piece of rubber made contact Riku's left eyebrow would twitch. It was actually very fun to watch and do. "Sora?"

"Yeah?" The boy answer, flicking another eraser bit at his friend.

"Do you want my attention or are you just trying to annoy me?" Two bits of eraser hit him this time.

"Both really." The erasers stopped flying. "You doing anything after school?"

"Why?" Sora reached across the desk to grab Riku's hand and turn it over so that his palm was facing up.

"These calluses, they're from wielding a keyblade aren't they?" The teen nodded. "It gets kind of boring always beating Roxas when we spar-Ow!" It was just Sora's luck that his brother was walking back to his desk with a heated bottle and was thus directly behind him.

"You're always beating who?" Roxas asked, his hand tightly clenched into a fist. "We both know that I own you when it comes to two blade style."

"Only if I'm fighting two blade style too. You get your ass handed to you if I'm only using one."

"You don't get bragging rights unless you can beat me at both our styles."

"Like you're one to talk. You wield one keyblade like a novice."

"Why you little-!" Riku grasped both boy's by their cloaks, using them to jerk the twins forward. Their foreheads met with a loud crack. "Ah, shit!"

"Riku!"

-/-

He'd been on a real emotion high on the way home. He and Sora now had a new sparring partner and after a quick work out, which he was positive would end in him taking both his brother and friend down, they were going to meet with Kairi and Namine. Right now though, standing in the driveway Roxas couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right. "Sora, that car." His brother slid to a stop next to him, staring wide eyed at the limo parked in front of their house. "That's not one of Cid's is it?"

"No it's-Where's Dad?" _Please let him be home today. He's never home by the time we're out of school, but please let him be home today._

"Didn't Leon say something about Strife Enterprise buying out-Damn it, that means he's not here!" The twins were really starting to scare Riku now. What was so important about their father not being home? "And if he's not here, then that means-Mom!" Sora was a half a step behind his brother in their race to the door. Someone saved them the trouble of opening it. "What the hell are you doing in our house!"

"Now is that any way to speak to family?" The man standing in the doorway brushed passed the brothers, the icy glares they were shooting him being coolly ignored. "Riku Yasutora, correct?"

"Y-yeah." _How does he know my name? Why would he know my name?_ Riku looked to the twins for assistance, but they didn't look any less surprised than he did. "Do-do I know you?" The man was smiling and Riku couldn't help but think he liked it better when he wasn't.

"I don't expect Wise has told you, but your mother would like to see you again." He handed the silver haired boy an envelope before moving to his car. His chauffer scrambled to his side, hurrying to open his car door. "The restraining order isn't for you." With that the man was gone.

"Who was that?"

"Our uncle. Sephiroth." It was bizarre enough that their father's half brother was at their house, but what was his connection with Riku? "Why does he know you?" Riku turned the envelope over in his hands still wondering the same thing.

"I don't know Sora."

-/-

My cell phone has never seen more action than it did today. My Mom must have told all my family members that I was leaving on the July 12. I called my grandparents to say goodbye to them, and fifteen minutes later my aunt who's been living in Florida for the passed two years called to tell me goodbye, and barely ten minutes after that my aunt/godmother called to tell me goodbye and every possible phone number I could reach her by. I got to say goodbye to my uncles in person. Now the only one I'm worried about is Shishi, since I can't exactly explain to my dog that I'll be leaving for ten months. Oh well at least she and my mother will have each other.

Well don't worry about the updating. I can't promise anything, but I asked my recruiter's boss a lot of questions about how life in basic training would be and it seems like I'll be able to update even while I'm there(and order manga online-Yay! I'd go crazy without them) and if not well two months will pass rather quickly. My job training is computer analysts so I know I'll have access to the internet after basics at least so no year long wait for chapter five.

To all who read my story. Thank you and please be patient.


	5. Tormentors

Ahem. Drum roll, please! **Crickets chirping.** I said drum roll, please!** Coughing** -.-' Okay forget the drum roll. The Great Kazemaru-kun is back! Now let's skip the formalities and jump straight into chapter five!

**Disclaimer**: My bank account never really recovered from buying those airplane tickets to fly home for Christmas and all those gifts I bought for my mother. Not to mention that Ft.Gordon, GA was bloody boring and I spent at least two hundred of every paycheck on DVDs and comic books. **Sigh** If military paid by the hour I'd be freakin' rich enough to own Kingdom Hearts and Batman Beyond, but the military doesn't and I don't.

-/-

"How long have you know your mother, Sora?" It had seemed like a very odd question to ask, but the brunette could see that Riku honestly needed an answer.

"All my life. From the moment she gave birth to me."

"And after?"

"Until I found my father she was all Roxas and I had." Riku looked up form the letter in his hands. The letter which contents he had yet to reveal to the twins.

"And you, Roxas?" The blond looked stunned for a moment, but found his voice at Sora's nudging.

"Same as my brother. Our mother has been with us from the start." With the smallest wisp of a smile, a sad pitiful thing to see really, Riku balled up his letter and stuffed it into his pocket.

"I'm an awful son." Riku couldn't even bring his self to believe he loved his mother anymore. "But then-" She hadn't been all that wonderful of a mother either. "I have to go."

-/-

"Well? What are you waiting for? Follow him!" Roxas had said, along with smacking his little brother on the back of the head. As if Sora really needed to be told. It took him all of ten seconds to snap his rollerblades on and speed down the street after Riku. Roxas shook his head absently wondering if he should have followed as well.

-/-

Considering the fact that Sora was wearing rollerblades and Riku was wearing...well sneakers, it was surprisingly difficult to catch up to him. "Rik-Ompfh!" Take his eyes off the path ahead and he slams into the first thing in his way. "Sorry 'bout that." Sora mumbled his quick apology while climbing back to his feet. Never noticing what had fallen from his pocket the brunette took off back on his Riku hunt.

"Man, who was that guy, ya know?" Rai asked, rubbing his sore bottom.

"ID." Fuu said simply. Seifer bent down to pick up the plastic rectangle that Sora dropped.

"Institute 13 Identification. Name: Sora Strife. Sex: Male. Age:15 Year: First." _Great more Institute trash in my neighborhood._

_-/-_

"You really didn't have to come." Riku sat on the ground, his right arm resting on a propped up leg. The letter was still a crinkled ball of paper clenched in a tightly closed fist. Of all places Sora would have thought he'd find Riku, sitting here in front of a tombstone was the last place he would have looked.

"I know." Sora bladed forward until he was right next to the silver haired teen and plopped down. "But what kind of friend would I be if I hadn't come?"

"The kind that minds their own freakin' business." Riku sniggered. Sora grinned broadly.

"You know what they say about the difference between a good friend and a best friend?"

"If you get your butt thrown in jail you're bailing yourself out and if you get us both in jail I'll kill you."

"You know that really isn't what they say, Riku." Sora grumbled with a pout.

"Hn." Riku directed his eyes back to the solemn marker before him. The person buried here, he had never hated and loved anyone as much as he did the person buried here. "When I was a kid I thought that it was my fault. I thought...I thought that I had done something wrong, something terrible to be forced to live with Au-with Maleficent."

"Riku-" The teen shook his head. He needed to get this off his chest. He wanted to tell this. Sora really didn't have to be there, but Riku was glad he was.

"How big of a person do you think it takes to beat a baby? A child?" Sora remained silent. "That was Maleficent's way of raising children. I lived with that woman for seven years." The jagged white scars that crossed his body were testaments to that. "The only thing I had ever done wrong was be born." He could still remember it. The way Maleficent would sneer at him and say he was a mistake created by a broken condom or called him the forgotten pill.

_Nasty little children, who were never meant to be born, should be grateful for the meal they get. _Maleficent had snapped at Riku when he complained about eating a cold ham sandwich for the fifth night in a row. _Listen to me Riku,_ she said grasping his chin with her bony fingers, _your birth happened thanks to a night of drunkenness and stupidity and a broken condom. _She smirked that ugly smile he hated so much. _Your mother doesn't want you, _tears were welling in his eyes, he knew it. _Your father doesn't know you exist. _The tears were rolling down his cheeks now. _Be grateful, Riku. I'm all you have._

"I hated Maleficent, but not as much as I hated her."

"Riku?" Two green eyes shifted in his direction. "Who's grave is this?" That same smile, the one that made Sora's heart ache to see, was back on his friend's face.

"You could never hate your mother, could you Sora?" This was her grave. Riku hadn't known it existed or that she had died nearly two and a half years ago. According to the letter she was walking home, a car jumped a curb. It happened during the night. Visibility was low and the driver was drunk. She'd probably never knew what hit her, but she hadn't died on impact. She was still semi-conscious when the medics arrived. She was loaded on the stretcher and into the ambulance. She was mostly unresponsive and seemed unaware, but she kept whispering one thing over and over again. His name-Riku, her baby. She wanted to see him again, she wanted to see how much he had grown, she wanted to hold him again and take him to the zoo, she wanted to tell him the words she had never told him. Riku's mother had died on the way to the hospital. "I told you I was an awful son." Were he younger and still a child he would have cried, but not now. Riku just couldn't muster the energy to feel any real emotion right now, nor was he sure as to what he should be feeling. Overjoyed because all his childhood tormentors had gotten what they deserved in the end? Or grief? The woman was still-No, had been his mother and in her final moments she had all but begged to see him and for his forgiveness. "What do you want from me?" He asked the silent grave. Sora gently clapping him on the shoulder jerked him out of his musing.

"Come on, Riku." He stood up with his rollerblades slung across his back and a pair of worn skater shoes on his feet. "You're eating dinner at my house tonight."

"My father-"

"You don't have to." Sora interrupted. "Let's go. My Dad's home by now and Rox's is probably wondering where we are."

_You don't understand, Sora. _Riku thought as they left the cemetery. _My father...is Sephiroth._

-/-

"Hey!" Sora screamed at the truck as it sped by. "Watch where you're going you jerk!" He turned to Riku, shrugging his shoulders before shaking his soggy head of brown quills. "Man, this rain is just what we need." They hadn't even made it half way home and it was all ready pouring.

"Maybe you should steer clear of streets." Riku could hear his shoes squishing with every step he took, he was no near as drenched as the brunette who was unfortunately walking on the side of the sidewalk closest to the road.

"I should have brought a ra-AAACHOO!" Taking a moment to silently curse the weather Sora tried that again. "A raincoat."

"Rai, you know what I hate more than finding Institute trash in my neighborhood?" Riku stopped so suddenly Sora nearly slammed into him. "Finding it in loads." Seifer slowly circled the two teens, leering back at Riku glare for glare. "There aren't anymore of you pampered rich boys running around here, are there?"

Carefully, hesitantly, so as to not draw attention to himself Sora slipped his left hand into his pocket. _Four against two. Can't say I really like these odds. _Sora's blue eyes bounced from person to person, the usually warmth and cheerfulness in them replaced by a cold, calculating stare as he quickly assessed the possible danger. _The blond and that big guy are probably the power houses. The kid...yeah right. The girl doesn't look like much of threat,_ but he wasn't going to drop his guard around her based on looks. "Who are you?"

"Sora, I'm hurt. You don't even know my name." Seifer pulled the lost identification card from his coat and flicked it back to its owner. "It's Seifer Almasy, rich boy. Know it, remember it, fear it." What the young blond didn't know was that turning his back on the smoldering green eyes practically burning holes into him was his second big mistake. His first? Picking the fight in the first place.

"Know it, huh? Well when I write one of those 'Sorry I beat the snot out of your kid, but he was asking for it,' notes I'll be sure to remember that, but fear it…" When Riku's hand slipped inside his cloak Seifer took a cautious step back. Most of the rich boys he found wandering his neighborhood didn't carry weapons.

"Seifer! Watch out, ya know!" Rai had never been considered the brightest crayon in the box, but he knew a dangerous situation when he was in one. If the silver haired one was armed with anything they were at a huge disadvantage, unless… "Vivi!" The little boy flew nearly a foot into a air.

"Right!" He responded, running out to Rai carrying a metal bat. Vivi didn't quite make it. Halfway there he tripped on an upturned curb and hit the ground, the bat spiraling out of his hands.

_Good enough, ya know._ Rai caught the wayward bat and tossed it to his leader. "Catch, ya kn-Arghh!" Sharp shooting pain exploded in his right hand. It had been cut badly, blood freely flowing an angry red gash, but the was the least of Rai's injuries. Three of his fingers were bent at incredibly odd angles. They were twisted over in such a way that he'd never would have been able to do without extreme pain. They looked broken.

"Rai!" Seifer caught the metal bat before it could rocket passed.

"I'm okay, ya know." But what had hit him? What did this to his hand?

"Okay?" Rai's head jerked to the left, starring wide-eyed at the crouching brunette who was facing away from him, which Rai found to be very strange. The last he'd looked at the boy he was standing slightly to the right and in front of him with his back turned away. "You two are very far from okay." He stood, sharply pivoting on a heel and toe to face Rai. Although it was near impossible to tell in the rain the large boy had broken out in a cold sweat.

_That thing! That thing in his hands, ya know! _That thing was what had happened to his hand. "Stay-stay away from me, ya know!" Waving his hands Rai attempted to ward the brunette off as he stumbled back.

Sora arched a brow at the frantic boy, shouldering the object that was the cause of Rai's panic. "My father gave him to me when I was ten. He's kind of an antique so I don't use him to spar, but I like to carry him for luck and protection." It was huge, charcoal black in color and oddly shaped like a key. A tiny yellow bird keychain dangled from its handle. Had it not been for the rain the broad metal would have been splattered with blood. "His name is Metal Chocobo." Shaking all over Rai fell on his butt. "I don't know why you guys feel the need to attack Institute students, but I hardly care. Today was just not your lucky day. You picked the wrong **rich boys **to mess with."

_A keyblade-a keyblade, ya know. _He named his keyblade and Rai was sure he wasn't carrying it beforehand. That was no ordinary weapon and he was no ordinary rich boy. _Oh help me._ Eyes clenched shut, Rai threw his arms up to protect himself against what he was sure would be a painful beating, but all he felt was a cold gust of wind blowing passed him.

"Hey." Not thinking of his safety Rai dropped his arms and looked up. Sora stood besides him, his head tilted slightly to the left so he could glare at the crouching boy over his shoulder.

_Such speed_. Rai didn't believe he would have seen him move even if he'd kept his eyes open.

"Don't flatter yourself. Metal Chocobo's blade isn't meant for someone as unworthy as you, especially when you're unarmed." As Sora finished his sentence Metal Chocobo disappeared from his hands in a bright display of light. "Don't mistake that for sympathy. You picked this fight so you don't have the right to pull out of it." Sora cracked his knuckles. This would probably be murder on his hands. "Real men finish what they start."

The last thing Rai saw before blacking out was the sight of Sora's gloved fist speeding towards his face.

"Shit." Sora shook his bloody knuckles hoping to bring feeling back into them. "Your face is as hard as your head." Perhaps his two hit combination was a little overkill. After all one punch had flattened Rai's nose like an empty Coke can. The second blow to the temple that put him under really hadn't been needed, but Sora had probably done the boy a favor. "Hope you've learned it doesn't pay to pick on others."

-/-

So much rain and it came so suddenly. The storm was fierce and raging out there and he could barely see anything. How was he to find them in this? Never one to really complain though, Roxas glared hard through the car window as the rain continued to pound against it. They were out there somewhere. They had to be-Wait! Was that them? "Stop!" His door was thrown open before the car even made a complete stop. Roxas practically dived from his seat, running out into the storm.

-/-

"Rai!" Seifer caught his weapon with his right hand. Now he was ready for anything that rich boy could pull out his pockets.

"That's the second time you've turned your back on me. Do it a third time and I'll make sure you regret it." This was one of those rare times Riku wanted to kicked his self for having such long hair. The rain had plastered his bangs to his face. The teen was sure he looked more like a shaggy dog than he looked threatening.

"You're going to make me regret?" The blond took a few practice swings with his bat while advancing towards his target.

"That's right." Riku drew his hand back out revealing it to be void of a weapon. Sora had drawn his keyblade first in an attempt to prevent the exchanging of the bat, but the brunette wasn't fast enough and instead he ended up turning Rai's fingers into bony pulp. "I'll even give you two handicaps." Sora did, however, ultimately defeat his opponent without his keyblade. "One is that I'll fight you barehanded and two," now his plastered bangs would be of no consequence, "I'll beat you with my eyes closed."

_Beat me with your eyes closed?_ A wooden bat would have splintered under the pressure Seifer was applying in anger. "Arrogant bastard." One slim, silver eyebrow twitched at the insult. "That cockiness is going to get you killed."

"Hn." Seifer took one second out to blink and Riku was gone. "It's not cockiness." His voice was so much more closer now.

_Flash step. He's behind me!_ Seifer could see from the corner of his eyes. Riku raised and arm up his hand balled into a tight fist. _I can't evade it._ With his eyes sealed closed the teen brought his arm down at the same time Seifer brought his bat up.

"It's not cockiness." His whole arm tingled. The blond had blocked fairly well with that bat and Riku was sure he'd see bruises tomorrow morning. Perhaps fighting barehanded against a metal bat wasn't the best idea he'd ever had, but nothing could be done for it now. "It's confidence." This was how he said he was going to fight so he would.

_I'll admit you had me a little worried with that move earlier, but it doesn't matter how fast you are. You can't win against this bat. _"I don't care what you call it. I'm still going to kick your ass." Seifer didn't have anything like Riku's flash step, but he was quick in his own right. Closing the distance in leaps and strides he flanked the silver haired teen's left, making as little noise as possible. _You're going to regret walking into my neighborhood. _He swung the bat up in a wide arc and then sent it whistling down towards Riku's skull.

The bat and Seifer's entire body jerked to a stop.

"What the-F-ck!" No matter how hard he pulled he couldn't break the vice grip Riku had on his wrist. "How!"

"I heard that coming a mile away." Riku tightened his hand and the bat clattered harmlessly to the ground. "The difference between being confident and being cocky is knowing you have the strength to back it up." He applied more pressure. The blond dropped to his knees, gritting his teeth against the pain and the sound of his bones cricking. "I'm glad I met you Seifer Almasy, because now the next time I hear about an Institute student getting harassed I'll know who to come looking for." With one extra hard squeeze and a sharp twist of both their wrist-CRACK!-Riku released Seifer and finally opened his eyes. "This fight is over. I suggest you see to your buddy. I think mine went a little overboard on him." He spun on his heel and walked away, leaving Seifer glaring at his back and holding his broken his wrist.

-/-

"Damn, Sora you're a beast." The brunette grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. He would say something about Rai's condition.

"I'm a beast?" Sora gestured to the girl lying unconscious at their feet. "Not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but where'd you come from?" Mere seconds after he'd knocked Rai out Sora had heard a loud thump followed by a surprised gasp. He turned around just in time to catch Fuu's thoroughly knocked out body and see Roxas smirking at him.

"The same place as you. Our mother's womb." Was his brother's smart aleck reply. "You don't normally drop your guard like that, not feeling well?" Sora shook his head, brown wet spikes flying everywhere.

"I'm feeling fine, but Riku's-"

"Riku's what?" Said teen asked, arms crossed over his chest. "Talking about me behind my back-Hhmm?" Brows arched Riku stared at Roxas as if he couldn't believe the blond was there and he couldn't. "When did you get here?"

Roxas shrugged. "Does it matter?" He hooked his thumb in the car's general direction. "Our Dad's waiting. You guys ready to get out of the rain?"

"Lead the way Roxas, lead the way." Riku snickered. The blond turned red.

"Shut up." Roxas growled. For some reason Mr. Satyr liked to call on him to lead the class in their warm-up and cool-down exercises.

-/-

"Stupid rich bastards." Just looking at them made Seifer sick to his stomach. "You're going to pay for this." Rai, Fuu, his wrist. They were not going to leave unscathed; especially that silver haired one. Pressing his broken wrist into his chest Seifer stood up and grabbed his forgotten bat. He hoisted the metal up, holding it as if it were a javelin. "Just one good shot." Seifer muttered, before hurling the bat at Riku's head.

-/-

"Roxas, there's no shame in being a good motivator." Choosing instead to respond physically than verbally Roxas slugged Riku. "Ow! That hurt."

"Good." Roxas smirked, jumping away and quickly back pedaling out of striking distance. Riku followed-Or tried to before he was knocked to the ground.

"Damn, what the-Sora!" He had raised his self off the ground, looking up just in time to see a silver bat collide with the side of the brunette's head.

"Sora!"

-/-

Sora+Injures+KairiRomance. Just remember that if you're a little disappointed at the lack of any romance in this chapter. Hopefully chapter six can be done within the next two weeks.

Now that that's out of the way-Thanks for all the support you guys! I know it was a long wait because I had to live through it without the comfort of electronics(for the first two and a half months anyway). But now I am a Private Second Class and a trained and qualified 25B(Information Systems Operator-Analyst).


	6. Heal, Laugh, and Love

I know. I'm horrible for making you guys wait this long. I'm an awful person, and if it weren't 4:32 in the morning and I didn't have to be at work at 11 I'd probably sound more sorry. As it is here's a good 11 pages worth of chapter six.

****

Disclaimer: ….I think fan fiction speaks for itself don't you?

There were certain perks to being a dog that Goofy had come to understand. For one thing he'd found out that if he laid underneath the kitchen table with his head permanently nuzzled against Dad's leg it was a guarantee that Dad would pass him a good handful of tidbits. For another being a dog meant he was an excellent secret keeper as not only did people know it was physically impossible for him to go blabbing all their secrets, half the time they assumed he couldn't understand them anyway. Plus there was that lovely white bowl located in the room where he had to take those awful baths. That thing had the most interesting flavored water and he and Max seemed to be the only ones who knew of its wonders. Despite this and all the other amazing things to be had living a dog's life Goofy did crave to had one human ability. He wanted to talk.

Something was wrong with his boy. A fact he'd come to realize when Dad barged through the door, Sora lying limp in his arms and frantically calling for Mom. Although he'd caught fragments of conversation and probably could piece together the details of the last few hours Goofy wanted real answers. He wanted to ask questions. What happened? What's wrong? What could he do to help? He wanted so bad to know and yet he was and would always be a dog incapable of human speech and as it was such he could only do what little information permitted him to do. As soon as he was allowed the dog perched himself on the foot of Sora's bed. He would maintain constant vigilance over his boy until he was feeling better, Goofy vowed to his self while staring mournfully at the messy pile of blood stained bandages sitting on the bedside table. They would be removed once Mom finished redressing the wound on Sora's head, of this the dog was sure, but right now they bothered him greatly.

Aerith leaned back from her work, smiling tiredly at Goofy when the dog let out a low whimper. "He'll be all right." She said, patting the dog's lumpy head. Goofy huffed and stood to adjust his position so that he was now laying besides Sora. When was the last time she'd had a scare this bad? Oh yes, it was about five years ago when she found out that Cloud had taken her ten year old babies shopping for back-to-school supplies...On his motorcycle. She'd never screamed so loud or long at Cloud before in her life.

"Mom?" For the first the time that night Roxas stepped into his room. His eyes immediately sought out his brother's still form.

__

"Sora!" Hands fisted on his brother's cloak. "Keep your eyes open, you idiot!" His eyes were rolling into the back of his head. No! He needed to stay awake! "Come on!" The hands rearranged themselves, one gripping him around the waist and the other tugging his wrist up and around his brother's neck. "Ri-Damn it, Riku!" His face was wet, understandable it was raining, but this was a different kind of wet. It was matting his hair despite the downpour. "Put him down, Riku!" He was being held so close the liquid was sticking to his brother as well. "Sora needs help more than that prick needs his ass kicked!" His head was pulsing. "Eyes stay opened!"

His father had drove like a madman to get them home. It really was a miracle in itself that Cloud hadn't killed them all. "He's going to be okay, right?" Goofy growled and rested his head on Sora's steadily rising and falling chest. Roxas raised a brow. "O-Kay."

"He was like that with you too." His mother chuckled at his puzzled look. Even as a puppy Goofy had been extremely protective of the twins. "That week you caught the chicken pox. I'm surprised you've forgotten." Aerith stood, gathering the dirty bandages into a plastic bag and kissing her sleeping son on the forehead before stepping away from his bed. Goofy watched her like a… well like a watchdog that was actually good at his job. "You were a few months passed seven and he only left your bed to eat and go outside." As she passed Roxas, Aerith gave him a small kiss of his own on his right temple and tapped him on his left. "Your brother's fine, but you might want to wash this off." The blond smiled a lopsided grin and scratched at the dried blood crusted in his hair and on the side of his face before his mother slapped his hand away. "I said wash it off not sprinkle it on my carpet!"

-/-

"Going somewhere?" By sheer force of will Riku kept himself from leaping three feet into the air. Cloud tossed a cell phone to the silver haired teen and collapsed on his couch. "Call your father. You shouldn't try walking home in this rain."

"Um.." My that man was huge. Really Diz was probably just as tall as Roxas and Sora's father, but Diz had that regal professor look to him while Cloud had this 'I bench press Harleys,' look about him. "Thank you, Mr. Strife." Riku flipped the phone opened and quickly punched in his home number. The tall blonde starred at Riku over his shoulder, frowning slightly and turning to the plasma flat screen hanging on the wall.

"You don't need to be so formal." Cloud said as he picked up the remote and flicked on the television. "You are my favorite nephew." On the third ring the cell phone hit the floor. Its battery flew off to the right landing underneath the coffee table and abruptly ending Riku's call. "You want to sit down?" Cloud asked motioning to the empty space besides him on the couch.

"You-you… You know-?"

"Sit." The blond interrupted. Riku slowly circled the couch before sitting down on the cushion farthest from Cloud. His eyes remained trained on his friends' father, watching the man as he calmly poured himself a drink. Three fourths of the glass' contents were downed in one huge gulp then Cloud turned his head to properly address the teenager. He opened his mouth to speak, but Riku beat him to the punch.

"How long have you known?" The teen blurted. Cloud shook his head, smiling slightly and not at all surprised with the outburst. No, he really hadn't expected Riku to remain quiet.

"For a very long time, actually." The blond pulled his wallet from his pocket, retrieving a small photo from it and handing it to Riku. It was a picture of a baby, maybe a few months passed a year old wearing a little blue and white silk outfit and smiling a huge toothless grin. The baby had a crown of neatly combed silver locks and a pair of clear green eyes. He didn't even need to ask. Riku knew the baby in the photo was him. "It was at a gala, mostly family and close friends, and your mother was there as Sephiroth's date. She handed these out to anyone she managed to snag in a conversation long enough to tell them about you." Cloud rifled through his wallet a second time, his fingers emerging from its folds with several more pictures of his nephew. "Up until her divorce from Wise your mother sent me at least one picture of you a year." Riku flipped through the photos, noting that he could remember taking some of the more recent ones, more specifically the ones were he had all his teeth.

He grimaced when he got to a particular picture he remember all too well taking. It stood out in his memory so because it had been the first time he'd seriously doubted his mother's love. The day he'd taken this picture only hours before his mother had come to pick him up Maleficent had gotten angry with him for some reason he couldn't even recall now and hit him across the face with her cane. It was one the few times she'd ever struck him somewhere visible and even with all the make up his mother had applied to his face that day the bruises and swelling were still obvious in the picture. It was unbelievable. The woman had beaten him with a cane for Christ's Sakes and all his mother had done was cover it with make up and send him back to her! What kind of mother did that to her son?

"Riku," Cloud spoke, startling the teen out of his memories. "I don't pretend to know how my brother's mind works." Actually he was very certain that all his half siblings were a little touched in the head, especially Yazoo who's maturity seemed to regress with each passing year. Seriously what ever that had been wrong with his father's second wife had definitely been passed on to all four of her sons. "Before Yazoo had Demyx he liked to drop hints and brag in his own subtle way to our father that he was his only child that had an heir." He shook his head when Riku opened his mouth to inquiry about the twins. There was no rushing need to inform him that Cloud hadn't found out about his own heirs until eight years after their birth. "After our father willed the majority of the company to me your existence dropped from everyone minds. Sephiroth never mentioned you again, but your mother kept sending me pictures. On one of the few times that I talked to her face to face she told me that once she divorced her husband she'd marry my brother." Riku frowned, starring hard at the carpet as thoughts swirled around his head.

"You mean my parents never married?"

"No," Cloud sighed. "When I gained ruling power over Strife Enterprise Sephiroth lost interest in you and your mother. Without him backing her your mother lost the custody battle over you to Ansem Wise."

"That's not true." Riku whispered. Slamming a fist against the couch's arm rest he said more forcefully, "No! My mother didn't want me! She didn't give a damn about me! She traded me for a penthouse!" It wasn't true! His mother never loved him. The only people who had ever cared about him were Diz and Xemnas. "Do you know the kind of hell she left me in? I didn't mean anything to either of them other than some-some kind of bargaining chip for my father!" He stood up so fast he nearly blacked out. "Maleficent was right." He was the result of a broken condom, an unfortunate accident that his parents had tried to get rich off of and then quickly discarded when it became apparent that he was useless. "She was right about everything." Riku mumbled, his head down and hands clenched so tightly his nails were biting into his flesh. Two arms suddenly enveloped him in a tight embrace. Riku instinctually jerked away before settling in the hug.

"No child's birth is a mistake, Riku." Standing there encircled in his uncle's arms the silver haired teen finally let his resistance crumble. Right there in his best friends' and cousins' living room he felt it was finally okay to cry.

__

Why didn't they want me? Riku wondered as Cloud pulled him closer.

-/-

"He's our..our cousin." Roxas rolled over with some difficulty, Donald and Max were such bed hogs, to look at his prone brother. "Can you believe it, Sora? We're related to our best friend." His brother of course said nothing, but Roxas hadn't expected him too. The pain killers Sora had been given would keep him out until at least tomorrow afternoon. "Yeah, I know, Riku looks nothing like us and yes I know that neither does mullet boy, but that weirdo doesn't count." He turned over again so that he was laying on his back with Max softly snoring in his ear. Donald ruffled his feathers in his sleep, snuggling a little closer to Roxas's side before the blond spoke again. "You can't tell anyone that we know though, okay? Overcooked cabbage lies better than you so I know how difficult that's going to be, but just try to act cool about this." Their parents weren't aware of the fact that Roxas had been eavesdropping on their conversation just outside the door and what a conversation it had been.

-/-

Kairi fiddled with her spork silently wondering what had possessed her to agree with Namine. _She's your sister. You love her. Hayner would only make her more uncomfortable. _She glanced down at the 'Get Well' gift her sister had stashed under her the cafeteria table. _Oh who am I kidding? I'm going to hate Namine by the time this day is over._ She should have never dated Seifer in the first place, though Kairi was willingly to admit that the senior was...Well… attractive and when he wasn't acting like the conceited, pompous ass that he was she could easily see why Namine had started a relationship with him in the first place. Of course after two months she could also see why her sister had ended her relationship with him. Just because he wasn't a conceited, pompous ass all the time didn't mean he wasn't one the majority of the time and the guy had such power trips. He seemed to think having a police officer for a father gave him the right to harass anyone he didn't like. Plus he..why were they visiting him again?

"I found it!" Selphie yelled, slamming a magazine on the table in front of her. Namine laughed outright at her startled look before getting a well placed kick in the shins.

"And what exactly have you found?" Kairi asked, picking up the magazine and ignoring the enraged glare her sister was sending her way. "Selphie, this magazine is dated nearly four years ago." The younger girl snatched the article out of her hands, frantically flipped through the pages, and slapped it back down on the table.

"Look! I knew those guys were rich, I mean what Institute boy isn't, but I didn't know they were that wealthy!" Honestly if they didn't attend the Institute and hadn't been picked up in a limo she never would have pegged the Strife twins as being so well off. They didn't dress like they were loaded, they lived above a clinic, and one of them worked at a fast food restaurant for crying out loud!

"Billionaire bachelor Cloud Strife is finally off the market." Namine read. "Okay, you lost me." She said clearly not understanding all the fuss Selphie was making about the old article.

"It's dated nearly four years ago. The guy's been off the market for a while and in any case I doubt you would have had much of a chance with him to begin with. What is he, like thirty?" Kairi pointed out again. Poor Selphie felt like ripping her hair out.

"Would you two work with me here? I'm talking about your boyfriends!" She took a moment to revel in the sisters red faced denials before continuing on. "See I knew I'd seen the both them from somewhere before and at first I didn't really think anything of this. Strife isn't that much of a uncommon name, right? Then I took a closer look at the ring bearers in that picture." She urged the sisters to do just that. The focus of the article was the newly wed bride and groom, but if you were really looking for them you could see the two little ring bearers standing to the side of the groom with ear to ear smiles.

"Oh my God." Selphie grinned in triumph.

"Looks just like them, don't they? If you read the whole article it tells you that Cloud Strife married Aerith Gainsborough, his high school sweetheart and the mother of his children; twins Roxas and Sora Strife. You guys are dating the heirs to Strife Enterprise!" She screamed for everyone in the cafeteria to hear. Which Kairi was sure they did as every head in the vicinity had turned to stare at their table. Namine turned a lovely shade of apple red and tried unsuccessfully to sink into the tile floor.

"A little louder next time, Selp, I don't think they heard you in detention." She acquired her own interesting color as a thought suddenly occurred to her. "We're not dating!"

-/-

"Oh, thank God it's Friday." Yuffie sighed resting her head on the desk. Just one more class to go, then she'd be free for the weekend, and hopefully Mrs. Potts would be back. "It'll be over soon. Just keep saying that to yourself." She felt a tap on her head and looked up to see Roxas leaning on her desk smirking at her.

"You know what they say about one's sanity and talking to yourself." He let a cheeky grin slip across his face as he dodged a half-heated attempt to catch him in a headlock. "You look like crap."

"Oh thanks Roxas, you know how hard I try to look good for you." Of course she looked like crap. After spending these last two days running back and forth between the schools she was dead on her feet. _Oh God, please let Mrs. Potts be well enough to return Monday. I can't take another week of this._ Yuffie was actually quite sure she'd have a breakdown of her own if she had to continuing subbing for Home Ec. "Hey," she sat up fully and glance around. There were still a few minutes left until the tardy bell rang so students were slowly trickling in, but something was striking her as out of the ordinary. "Where's Sora? I know a certain someone who's really excited about seeing you two again and I can't surprise you both properly if you both aren't here!" Roxas gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, Yuffie see there was-" The ringing of the tardy bell cut him off mid explanation. "I'll tell you after class." He said shuffling his way to his desk or at least he tried to before someone jumped on his back and wrapped two slender arms around his chest. The person behind him leaned forward, lips brushing against his ear as they whispered.

"Guess who." It had been so many years since he'd heard that voice, but he'd recognize it anywhere. Roxas went rigid and turned a shocked wide eyed glance at Yuffie. She gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up to show him he'd correctly identified the voice. He quickly spun around in the hold, his hands resting on the person's hips as he gave them the once over.

"Holy cow, I can't believe it's you." Roxas breathed barely above a whisper. "Aw man, Yuna it feels like forever since I last saw you!" Any student who hadn't been watching before was now intently staring at the two. A few guys nudged each other knowingly while some girls giggled. Roxas didn't notice any of it as he wrapped his arms more securely around the girl's waist. "You have no idea how much I missed you!" Yuna laughed loudly, standing on her toes to place a kiss on the blond boy's cheek. "I missed you too and speaking of missing people where is my favorite little big brother?" Before Roxas could get a single word in Yuffie placed her hands on their shoulders and pulled them apart.

"Okay it was getting real cute, but I do work here so I have to enforce that no PDA on school grounds rule." She turned the blond around and pushed him off towards his seat. "Plus class does need to get started. To your desks!" Yuna tried to sneak away to an unoccupied chair. "Not you!" Yuffie snagged the younger girl by the elbow and pulled her back in front of the class. "All right everyone I want to introduce our new student, Yuna Kisaragi. Yeah we're related. This is my little sister so treat her nicely." An angry flush rose on the girl's cheeks.

"I hate you."

"I'm your big sister. Embarrassing you is kind of in the job description."

-/-

"You can stop staring at her at any time you know." Namine growled into her partner's ear. Roxas turned her way with a genuinely surprised expression on his face. _Oh great he doesn't even realize that he's behaving like a lovesick puppy._ She pressed Hikaru into his chest until he finally got the hint and took the egg into his arms. _Argh, I'm not going to let Selphie's words get to me. We're not dating! Roxas can stare at that girl until his eyes fall out for all I care._ Namine was painfully aware of how badly she was lying to herself. She wasn't sure though if she wanted to call what she was feeling jealously. She had only known the boy for what? Three days? It was impractical to be feeling as such so early on, wasn't it? _He's really cute, I'll admit that, and kind of funny._

Roxas now with something else holding his attention was delighting in the fact that their egg baby responded well to people making silly faces at him. The blond was contorting his face into various expressions discovering which ones elicited the most giggles from the egg. _And a little sweet._ Roxas suddenly looked up. His soft blue connected with her own holding for a meager five seconds before Namine realized she'd been caught staring and quickly adverted her eyes. _Oh lord, I was jealous. _Roxas blinked a few times in confusion pondering the girl's strange behavior.

_Dad's right, I'll never understand women._ First she seemed angry that he was staring at Yuna and now when he looks at her she's too embarrassed to meet his eyes. It was a fortunate thing Hikaru was easier to understand. After all if she refused to even glance in his direction he was probably going to spend this class period conversing with his egg. "Uncle Sora'll be pretty upset that he didn't get to see Yuna." This was, oddly enough, the last straw for his partner.

"What's so great about her?" Namine snapped. The boy sitting next to her was understandably startled.

"Well.." Perhaps afraid of the throbbing vein on the side of the girl's head and its possible promise of a painful outcome if he did not provide a suitable answer Roxas spoke slowly and carefully. "It's not so much as-as what's great about Yuna. It's um..you see neither me nor Sora have actually seen her since we were seven." Taking a deep breath he proceeded to tell her all he could about Yuna which really wasn't all that much. Yuffie and Yuna's grandmother had been a very old fashion woman who was set in her beliefs in what she thought a proper young lady should behave like. Needless to say Yuffie with her tomboyish ways was certainly not the prime example of one and Mrs. Kisaragi believed he and Sora were to blame for that. After months of constantly badgering her son six year old Yuna was tearfully shipped off to live with her grandmother and to attend an all girls academy. "That mean old bitty must be on her death bed or something to let Yuna transfer here." He sighed happily. "She was like our baby sister. She-she still is actually."

-/-

While Roxas spilled his guts out to Namine, Kairi sat at her own desk absently rocking Sayu in her arms and wondering where her own partner was. It wasn't like Sora to be late to class or to not show up at all, or was it? "Kairi?" The calling of her name pulled her from her thoughts and she swiveled in her seat to face the teen talking to her. "I doubt Roxas has told you yet." Biting his lip he found that he missed the eraser bits that had bounced off his head yesterday. "Last night Sora and I ran into some trouble on the way home-"

"What kind of trouble?" Kairi hurriedly asked. "Was that why Roxas-" This time Riku interrupted with a shaking of his head. "Sorry, I'll let you finish." She mumbled.

"To make a long story short we got in a fight and Sora was hurt, badly. He's okay now!" He rushed to explain. "But I don't know how long he'll be out of for. That asshole nailed him hard with that bat." _Oh shit_. Watching girl's face pale at such an alarming rate Riku questioned his choice of words and telling her in the first place. "Look he's fine now, right, but see the reason I told you is because I know how much he likes you and I'm sure a visit from you would cheer him up. If you talk to Roxas I know he can get you to Sora's bed in.. a… heartbeat… Why is your face so red?"

"He-He likes me?" Kairi asked, pointing a finger at her chest. She knew he was attracted to her, as proven from the hair flipping incident, and she was positive that he enjoyed her company, but she hadn't dared to hope that he might like her in that sense.

"What you mean you didn't know?" The teen snickered. "Oh come on this is Home Ec. I can count on one hand the number of boys, especially the rich ones, who honestly want to take this class and still have fingers left over. Trust me Sora is not one of the honest ones." Rather than sit there and listen to anymore smart remarks from him Kairi decided to do something productive, standing up and shoving her egg into Riku's hands. "Hey!"

"Hold Sayu for me, okay." She stated, walking over to her sister's desk and leaving him gaping at her retreating back. "Roxas." Ignoring all the blood rushing to her face she asked, "I want to see Sora." Well it was more like telling than asking. "I know about-" Aware of the nosy ears listening to them she leaned a little closer and lowered her voice. "About the fight and about what happened to him and I just want to see him for myself." Roxas smiled brightly, a mischievous light sparking in his eyes.

"Kairi, I'd bet all the munni in my trust fund that my brother wants to see you too. I can get you to our house after school, no problem." Letting a relieved sigh pass her lips Kairi straightened, obviously happy with the settlement. Then she remembered her promise to her sister and the smile dropped right off her face.

"Oh crap, Namine, I forgot. I'm so sorry!" Her sister wave it off.

"No big deal. I can find someone else to go with me." What was once an understanding face turned to one more playful. "It's not like you wanted to come anyway, now you have a good excuse."

"Huh? Go with you where?" To say the poor boy was confused would be an understatement. Kairi smirked right back at her sister as an imaginary light bulb flicked on above her head.

"Why don't you take Roxas? I'm sure he'd love to go with you." Said boy was looking back and forth between the sisters no less confused than when the conversation started.

_Is she out of her mind? Exactly what makes her think taking him with me to my ex-boyfriend's house is a good idea?_ Namine wondered while Roxas raised his hand into the air just as one would do to call their teacher's attention. Not surprisingly Yuffie glanced up and addressed him.

"Oh no, not you." The sub rolled her eyes and went back to reading her comic book. "Question: Where are you going and why do you need to take me?" Namine panicked and waved her arms around wildly.

"Nothing, nowhere! I don't need to take you." The blond was not convinced or deterred.

"I'm going with you." He spoke, narrowing his eyes suspiciously in a way that dared her to challenge him. Namine sighed in defeat knowing she couldn't win against both him and her sister. Kairi did a little victory dance in her head.

-/-

"I'm serious Roxas. You don't need to come with me." She wanted to find a convenient pole to bang her head against. Trying to change this boy's mind was about as easy as squeezing water from a rock. It just wasn't going to happen. "You really don't." Her persistence was something to be admired though.

"I'm going with you." The fifteen year old stated firmly. Apparently his was something to admire too. As if he'd never heard the agonized groan coming from her he pulled a sleek cell phone from his pocket and made a quick call. "Okay Kairi, I got you ride."

"You did!" She didn't bother to make the effort of hiding the excitement in her voice.

"Yep. He should be pulling up right about…Now!" The second the word left his mouth a solid black convertible made a jerking stop in front of them. The boy behind the wheel slowly turned towards them. For a brief moment Kairi entertained the thought of asking him how exactly he was able to drive with only one eye. His choppy blue bangs completely covered one half of his face. "Right. Let me introduce you two to Institute 13 second year Zexion Leonhart and no his hair is not natural." Zexion made no sound to disagree with him. The older boy simply retrieved the Starbucks Styrofoam from his cup holder and took a few sips from it. His eyes moved at a snail's pace from Roxas to the girl he'd be chauffeuring, staring intently at the egg and thermos cradled in her arms.

"You getting in or what?" He finally spoke in even and calm voice that matched his demeanor perfectly.

"Um right." Kairi climbed into the passenger seat and buckled in. "Have fun Namine." She couldn't help but teasingly toss over her shoulder.

_I hate you, Kairi! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! _She wanted to screamed at the car fading in the distance.

"So where are we going?" She also wanted to strangle that boy.

-/-

"Here you go." Zexion said in a tone that suggested he was extremely bored. Kairi doubted he could speak in any other tone. "Think you're going to need a ride home?"

"Thank you for driving me here and for offering, but no. I think I'll be fine from here." He nodded in agreement and waited until she was out of his car and inside the clinic before tearing off down the road. "Wow." The clinic was a rather modest little building though this sight was only what could be seen from where she was standing. About six purple plastic chairs lined the wall to her left and there was what appeared to be a kiddy's corner on her right. Her inner child was sorely tempted to run over and play with the impressive collection of Lego's. _You're here for a reason girl and it's not to fool around with colorful blocks!_ Shaking the silly thoughts from her head she stepped up to the empty front desk. "Hello?" Kairi slightly leaned across it, peering behind and around the desk in search of any sign of life.

"Just a second!" Someone, she guessed female from the sound of the voice, called from the back. Moments later a woman in a white lab coat was standing before her. She smiled pleasantly while removing the glasses from her face. "Hello, I'm Dr. Strife, how may I help you?"

"Strife?" Was she related to Sora? _Wait a minute! She looks just like-! Oh my God! _"You're Aerith Gainsborough! You're Sora's mother!" Startled, she nodded.

"Actually I'm Aerith Strife, but yes I am Sora's mother. I'm guessing that you are one of my son's classmates?"

"Ummm..Yeah." Kairi said to her toes. Her common sense had finally caught up to her leaving her well beyond mortified at her earlier actions. "I was worried when he didn't show up for class and then Riku told me-He wasn't hurt that badly, was he?"

"He was lucky." Knowing that the girl hadn't come to just talk about her son she pointed out the staircase on the far right. "He might still be asleep, but he should be waking up soon. Go to the third floor, second door on the right."

"Thank you."

-/-

Aerith had been right. Sora was still sleeping, had been actually for the past twenty minutes that she'd spent sitting at his bedside. "This is great. I go through all this trouble to see you and you're not even awake for me to enjoy it." She picked Sayu up and held her out to the bed. "This is your Daddy. A regular lazy bum, isn't he?" She placed the egg on the pillow next to the brunette's head and went back to staring/poking at the boy. "I even made you this chicken noodle soup in class-Aaah!" It wasn't only scary it was ridiculous how fast Sora shot up and awake in bed at the mention of food. "Gees, if I'd known that's all I needed to do to wake you up I would have said it a half hour ago."

"Kairi? What are you doing here?" His eyes crossed as he followed the girl's movement, grinning when she lightly flicked his forehead.

"You weren't in class today. Why wouldn't I be here?" He shrugged, his goofy little smile that seemed a permanent fixture for him whenever he was with her on his face.

"Aw, were you worried about me?"

"Of-Of course not!" She was not blushing. She wasn't! "Sayu missed her Daddy." The little egg was blissfully unaware of their conversation, snoozing happily away on Sora's pillow.

"Just admit it Kairi. I had you worried and you made me soup!"

"Yeah, so what if I did?" She griped, chucking the soup filled thermos at the boy. "You aren't the first person I've ever done that for."

"Exactly how many weren't related to you?" He slyly asked. She was saved from answering when someone knocked on the door. "It's cool, Mom, I'm decent."

"And you better stay that way." Aerith said. She walked in carrying a tray with two glasses of lemonade and two little pills. "Don't forget to take them or the pain will come back." She warned before leaving.

"Kairi." Sora was holding the opened thermos in his hands. His upper lip wet from taking a huge gulp of the soup inside. "You really made this?" The girl wrung her hands on skirt not all too sure or willing to accept why she was nervous, but feeling it nonetheless.

"Yes. Does it taste bad? Because I can understand if it does. I didn't really have much time to make it and-"

"Kairi!" Sora laughed. "Are you kidding me? This is the best chicken soup any girl has ever made for me!"

"Just how many girls have made you chicken soup, Sora Strife?" At her icy tone the brunette gulped and sunk into his covers.

"Only my Mom, I swear." He set the thermos aside on the tray his mother left and picked up his painkillers and lemonade. "She brought one for you too." Sora gestured to the second glass and then popped the pills in mouth. Kairi grabbed her own glass and took at sip from it. Sadly that sip was all it took to send her into a coughing fit. "Hey you okay? Maybe Leon was right when he said Mom's lemonade is an acquired taste." He patted her back and passed her the thermos to help her clear her throat.

"What does she put in it?" Kairi quaffed down the soup, not caring that she was drinking after Sora. Getting that taste out of her mouth was more important.

"Salt. Why? What does your mother put in it?"

_She puts sugar in like a normal person!_ Sighing she gave him back the thermos. "Nothing, here, drink your soup." Sora eagerly did so. A comfortable silence fell over them. With Sora it lasted all of three minutes.

"So are you going to ask? Do you want to know how it happened?" Kairi reached up, her fingers softly brushing the faint red staining the bandages wrapped around his head.

"You're alive, you're healing, and you'll be back in school Monday helping me take care of Sayu, flicking erasers at Riku's head, and fighting with Roxas. That's all that matters. It's all I care about."

"So you were worried about me." He grinned.

"Sh-Shut up!" Maybe she was blushing… But if she was it was only a little.

-/-

I wanted to put more scenes in this chapter, but it was getting a little long.

Heheh all right 10 guess on who's life Yuna will play a fun part in and the first nine don't count. Some pretty good interaction planned for Roxas and Namine in chapter 7 (I'm throwing Seifer in the mix, it'll fun for me at least). I think I may even bring in Demyx (I do love the weirdo). I left I few loose ends in this chapter, but don't worry they'll get tied up.


End file.
